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Presented    bv  CC  .rS.'^Krr.O  VO\OT 


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BV  4501  .W36 

1884 

Warner,  Anna 

Bartlett, 

1827 

1915. 

The  shoes  of 

peace 

THE    SHOES    OF    PEACE. 


BOOKS  BY  MISS  ANNA   B.    WARNER. 

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ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS, 

New  York. 


THE 

SHOES    OF    PEACE 
V 

ANNA    B.   WARNER, 

AUTHOR   OF   "THE   MELODY    OF   THE    TWENTY-THIRD   PSALM." 


Ohne  Hast,  ohne  Rast. 

How  beautiful  are  thy  feet  with  shoes,  O  prince's  daughter  ! 

Canticles. 


NEW  YORK: 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway. 


Copyright,  1884, 
By  Robert  Carter  and  Brothers. 


Unibrrsitg  Stress : 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I  plead  for  a  neglected  bit  of  the  Christian 
armour.  The  strong  helmet,  the  sharp  sword, 
the  ready  shield,  —  even  the  shining  breast- 
plate,—  have  many  wearers.  But  the  quiet 
shoes  are  out  of  date.  I  think  people  well- 
nigh  forget  that  such  things  are  possible.  Yet 
there  stands  the  injunction  : 

"  Your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel 
of  peace"  (Eph.  vi.  15). 

While  the  old  and  never-revoked  promise  covers 
all  the  roughness,  of  every  road. 

"  Thy  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass  ;  and  as  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be  "  (Deut.  xxxiii.  25). 

August,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 

— • — 

PAGE 

A  Cloud  in  the  West 9 

Crowded  Out 19 

A  Time  for  Everything 30 

The  Tangled  Skein 54 

Now 71 

All  Things  full  of  Labour 84 

Are  all-  Apostles  ? 103 

Until  the  Evening 124 


THE    SHOES    OF    PEACE. 


A   CLOUD    IN   THE   WEST. 


LISTENING  the  other  day  to  the  rat- 
tling echoes  among  our  hills,  as  gun 
after  gun  gave  forth  its  welcome  to  the 
Twenty-second  of  February,  I  began  to 
wonder  with  myself  what  the  Father  of  his 
Country  would  say  to  this  great  child  of 
his,  decked  in  all  her  Nineteenth  century 
progress  ?  How  would  these  almost  forty 
States  compare  with  the  old  thirteen,  to 
those  sagacious  and  far-seeing  eyes  ? 


io  A   Cloud  in  the   West. 

It  is  hard,  I  suppose,  for  the  wisest  man 
to  judge  fairly  between  his  own  age  and 
another,  or  even  between  one  part  and  an- 
other of  his  own.     That  early  time 

"  When  feelings  were  young,  and  the  world  was  new," 

must  of  necessity  stand  always  apart,  and 
in  some  sort  unapproachable.  Then  eyes 
were  ignorant,  and  hearts  untried,  and 
storms  made  no  impression  ;  but  now  come 
"  the  evil  days  "  spoken  of  by  the  Preacher, 
and  "  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain." 
Can  that  small,  pale  moon  overhead,  thread- 
ing her  way  among  obscuring  vapours,  be 
possibly  the  very  same  great  golden  ball 
that  rolled  up  so  grandly  from  the  eastern 
horizon  ?  In  the  look  of  all  earthly  affairs 
the  passage  of  time,  the  growth  of  knowl- 
edge, must  make  a  change.  Yet  a  few 
things  remain,  for  they  are  promised  ;  and 
a  few  are  unalterable,  being  "  established 


A  Cloud  in  the   West.  1 1 

for  ever."  "Though  a  sinner  do  evil  an 
hundred  times,  and  his  days  be  prolonged, 
yet  surely  I  know  that  it  shall  be  well  with 
them  that  fear  God,  which  fear  before  him" 
(Eccl.  viii.  12). 

With  Bible  help,  then,  it  is  well  worth  our 
while  —  it  is  our  bounden  duty  —  to  study 
the  age  we  live  in.  Not  for  its  money- 
making  facilities  alone  ;  but  for  its  dan- 
gers, its  mistakes,  its  drift.  We  all  study 
the  day's  temperature,  we  all  peer  earnestly 
into  to-morrow's  weather ;  but  the  electric 
and  magnetic  conditions  of  the  times  are 
passed  by  unnoticed.  And  the  few  who 
pause  to  examine  and  dare  to  proclaim, 
are  classed  by  the  rest  with  those  prover- 
bial people  who  always  carry  umbrellas. 
"  Ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky ;  but 
can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ?" 
(Matt.  xvi.  3.)  Clearly,  then,  the  study  of 
the  times  is  not  a  blind  thing,  neither  with- 


12  A   Cloud  in  the   West. 

out  profit ;  even  though  it  lead  to  cautionary 
signals  in  most  unexpected  places. 

"The  times," —  and  what  wonderful 
times  they  are!  Almost  the  "Arabian 
Nights  "  in  common  life  experience.  "  Many 
run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  is  increased." 
With  endless  appliances  for  comfort,  with 
countless  helps  for  work ;  and  yet,  if  the 
age  must  be  named,  it  might  well  be  called 
"the  Time  of  no  time."  For  that  is  the  uni- 
versal, ceaseless  complaint.  Yet  the  days 
are  as  long  as  ever;  the  sun  "hasteth"  no 
faster  "unto  his  going  down  ; "  each  min- 
ute rings  out  its  full  round  value ;  while  the 
ease  of  living  is  a  thousand  fold  increased  ; 
and  still  nobody  has  (or  thinks  he  has)  lei- 
sure to  draw  one  long,  calm,  satisfying 
breath,  and  to  "  eat  his  bread  with  quiet- 
ness." Hezekiah  thought  his  days  flew  "  like 
a  weaver's  shuttle;"  but  only  steam  rates 
can  describe  ours.     "  Too  busy  !  "  —  "  No 


A   Cloud  ill  tlie   West.  13 

time ! "  is  the  cry  on  every  hand  :  the  wide- 
spread reason,  answer,  and  excuse.  What 
has  become  of  the  self-controlled  patience 
which  two  generations  ago  could  wait  a  week 
for  the  mail,  and  contemplate  a  six  months' 
voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  ?  or  spend 
eight  days  on  a  sailing  vessel  between 
New  York  and  Albany  ?  The  men  of  this 
generation  would  chafe  to  death  before 
they  reached  Poughkeepsie.  People  do 
not  appear  to  enjoy  their  breathlessness  : 
one  is  reminded  of  the  words  of  the  Prophet : 
"  Thou  hast  multiplied  the  nation,  and  not 
increased  the  joy ; "  for  everybody  says, 
"  How  I  would  like  to  do  this  or  that  if 
only  /  had  time  /"  Therefore  much  satis- 
faction does  not  seem  to  be  crowded  in. 
What  is  crowded  out  ? 

Church  services,  for  one  thing.  Listen 
to  your  Wednesday-evening  combination 
bell,  and  hear  what  it  says.     It  is  not  so 


14  A  Cloud  in  the   West. 

very  long  since  that  bell  had  much  more  to 
do.  At  nine  o'clock  Sunday  morning  came 
Sunday  school,  with  a  Bible  class  or  two  in 
the  church  gallery.  Then  service  at  half 
past  ten,  Sunday  school  again  at  two  (with 
other  Bible  classes  and  outside  mission 
schools),  church  service  at  three,  prayer 
meeting  at  seven.  During  the  week,  prayer 
meeting  Tuesday  night,  lecture  Thursday 
night,  teachers'  meeting  Saturday  night. 
And  we  no  more  thought  of  accepting  any 
other  invitation  for  church  nights,  than  we 
thought  (in  those  innocent  days)  of  going 
to  the  theatre  or  playing  cards.  And  truly 
we  had  small  need.  Ah,  how  good  the 
meetings  were !  How  pleasant  it  was,  as 
one  and  another  of  many  who  now  walk  in 
white  beyond  the  flood,  came  softly  into  the 
little  room,  —  elders,  deacons,  "  young  men 
and  maidens,  old  men  and  children,"  —  and 
we  all  rose  and  sang  together,  — 


A  Cloud  in  the   West.  15 

"  Sweet  and  solemn  be  the  season 

When  the  friends  of  Jesus  meet,"  — 

a  hymn  I  never  hear  sung  nowadays. 

"  Time  is  precious ;  we  '11  improve  it. 
Worldlings  talk  of  worldly  things. 
Leave  the  world  to  those  who  love  it ; 
T  is  not  thence  our  comfort  springs. 

Jesus  owns  us ; 
Jesus  is  the  King  of  kings." 

I  think  I  shall  hardly  hear  "  Zion "  sung, 
to  the  end  of  my  life,  without  those  words 
chiming  in. 

Perhaps  just  at  that  time  Dr.  Skinner 
was  going  through  Colossians,  in  a  famil- 
iar, Bible-reading  sort  of  way;  pausing 
over  such  words  as  "puffed  up," — or  " after 
the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and  not  after 
Christ," — and  then  the  little  company 
parted,  with  the  benediction  on  their 
hearts.  It  was  not  only  Time  you  had 
there,  but  Eternity  as  well. 


1 6  A  Cloud  in  the   West. 

As  Charles  Lamb's  sister  said  of  other 
past  pleasures,  "We  might  do  such  things 
now;  but  do  we?"  No;  one  night  in  the 
week  is  all  we  can  spare,  and  Sunday 
services  must  be  shortened.  We  are 
too  tired  to  get  to  church  before  eleven 
o'clock,  and  really  "a  man  ought  to  be 
able  to  say  what  he  has  to  say  in  twenty 
minutes." 

We  think  of  the  knights  of  old,  that  they 
must  have  been  strong  to  carry  their  ar- 
mour ;  but  what  degree  of  force  and  endur- 
ance enabled  the  men  —  and  women  —  of  a 
hundred  years  ago,  to  sit  out  a  two  hours' 
sermon  in  a  perfectly  cold  church,  with 
hard  seats  and  a  New  England  winter? 
I  like  long  sermons  myself ;  and  being  lin- 
eally descended  from  those  very  people, 
can  "  give  a  gay  guess  "  how  it  was  ;  but 
what  would  have  become  of  the  people  who 
demand   the  aforesaid   twenty  minutes   in 


A  Cloud  in  the   West.  17 

furnace  heat  ?  Four  verses  of  a  hymn  (or 
three)  where  once  it  was  sung  straight 
through,  and  prayers  cut  down  to  the 
general  feeling  of  hurry  ?  To  be  sure,  a  lit- 
tle time  may  be  saved  by  buying  a  news- 
paper on  the  way  to  church ;  by  a  moment's 
consultation  in  the  porch  ;  by  studying  the 
shop  windows  on  the  way  home,  —  windows 
now  left  obligingly  at  least  half  open.  In 
this  way  the  waste  Sunday  hours  may  help 
arrange  plans  for  Monday.  Perhaps  you 
think  this  cutting-down  process  has  been 
good  for  the  ministers ;  but  I  doubt  even 
that.  Time  and  strength  may  indeed 
be  set  free  for  popular  lectures  and  sci- 
entific books  and  after-dinner  speeches ; 
but  I  think  the  prayer  meetings  were 
better. 

Who  keeps  up  now  the  old  Monthly 
Concert  of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world?   except  indeed   the  far-off  mission- 


18  A   Cloud  in  the    West. 

aries,  or  some  country  church  which  has 
not  found  out  how  the  world  moves,  but 
only  that  it  is  not  yet  converted  ? 

Then  family  prayers.  —  But   that  is  too 
long  a  subject  for  the  end  of  a  chapter. 


CROWDED   OUT. 


IN  a  certain  mansion  of  ten  servants, 
where  once  I  was  much  at  home,  the 
waiter  (a  dusky  West  Indian)  used  to  declare 
emphatically,  "  Dere  's  no  time  for  prayers 
in  a  house  like  dis."  If  he  was  right,  then 
manifestly  something  else  was  wrong.  But 
how  many  houses  "  like  this  "  (  in  that)  are 
built  up  now-a-days  ?  What  proportion  of 
even  the  homes  of  church  members  bear 
the  motto  of  another  dwelling  which  also  I 
knew  well,  —  "  For  God,  the  Church,  and 
the  family  "  ?  Yet  this  last  was  one  of  the 
most  blessed  and  blessing  abodes  this  earth 
ever  saw  ;  and  "  Godliness  is  profitable  for 
the  life  that  now  is." 


20  Crowded  Out. 


Who  really  believes  it,  —  in  even  small 
household  affairs  "seeking  first  the  king- 
dom "  ?  Who  prays  with  missionary  Good- 
ell,  that  not  only  his  house,  but  ''all  the 
furniture,  may  be  consecrated  "  ?  Nay,  if 
we  can  get  it  fashioned  like  our  neighbour's, 
we  are  most  of  us  content.  People  are  out 
of  breath  in  the  race,  but  it  is  not  the  race 
described  by  Paul.  He  that  striveth  for 
that  mastery  "is  temperate  in  all  things  ;  " 
and  even  his  business  knows  its  place. 

Dr.  Bickersteth  said  to  me  once  that 
women  make  an  idol  of  their  work  ;  but 
surely  not  the  women  alone.  Does  not  the 
shapeless  thing  crowd  everybody,  in  every 
place,  with  a  right  of  way  which  is  alto- 
gether heathen  ?  Take  this  one  matter 
of  family  prayer,  —  and  setting  aside  the 
houses  where  it  has  been  quite  crowded 
out,  to  how  many  prosperous  business  men 
(as  to   one   I   heard  of)    might  come  his 


Croivded  Oat.  21 


child's  innocent  comment,  —  "  Father,  my 
teacher  says  we  ought  n't  to  say  our  prayers 
fast!'  The  bath  is  enjoyed,  the  toilet  is 
elaborate;  the  breakfast,  if  not  lingered 
over,  yet  has  full  justice.  But  the  prayers 
are  hurried.  Want  of  thought  brings  lack 
of  realization.  The  head  of  the  house  is 
too  well  to  remember :  "  The  Lord  killeth 
and  maketh  alive,"  —  too  competent,  to 
recollect :  "  It  is  the  Lord  that  giveth  thee 
power  to  get  wealth."  The  morning  paper 
has  told  him  of  a  rise  in  stocks,  the  barom- 
eter hints  at  a  change  in  the  weather ;  and 
he  is  on  the  spring  to  meet  and  prevent  or 
take  advantage,  as  the  case  may  be.  But 
the  tired  look  on  his  wife's  face,  which  her- 
alds for  her  a  weary  day  ;  the  fretfulness  of 
a  child  who  has  got  up  "  wrong  foot  first ; " 
some  new  —  or  old  —  fault  in  a  servant,— ^- all 
these  he  will  leave  behind  so  soon,  that  they 
are  hardly  worth  praying  about.    Rather  he 


22  Crowded  Out. 


anticipates  the  joyful  slam  of  the  front  door, 
which  for  eight  hours  at  least  will  shut 
them  off  from  him,  and  him  from  them. 

As  little,  very  often,  does  he  realize  what 
lies  oiitside  the  door :  the  possible  snares 
for  his  feet  in  the  busy  haunts  down  town, 
the  lurking  dangers  that  may  await  him 
in  his  office.  "  Infernal  machines,"  truly, 
but  not  of  a  sort  to  be  handed  over  to  the 
police.  Only  believing  prayer  can  thwart 
them,  but  that  can. 

How  lovely,  how  fitting,  then,  that  the 
householder  should  place  all  these  varied 
interests  in  safe  keeping  before  he  goes ! 
asking  not  only  a  blessing  on  basket  and 
store,  but  also  pleasant  paths  for  the  moth- 
er's feet  and  safe  steps  for  the  children. 
I  fancy  it  would  comfort  many  a  wife's  heart 
to  hear  her  husband  pray  over  her  daily 
cares.  And  instead  of  vague  generalities 
( "  that   we  may  not   leave    undone   those 


Crowded  Out.  23 


things  which  ought  to  be  done"),  he  need 
not  be  ashamed  to  come  out  boldly,  and 
pray  for  himself  too,  that  he  also  may  walk 
this  day  "  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  " 
"  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my  mouth" 
(Ps.  cxli.  3).  "  Hold  thou  me  up,  and  I  shall 
be  safe  "  (Ps.  cxix.  117). 

And  if  not  only  for  the  circle  at  home 
but  also  for  the  throng  abroad  he  should 
breathe  a  petition,  —  for  his  business  associ- 
ates, his  workpeople,  or  those  under  whom 
he  serves,  —  if  from  every  Christian  house- 
hold there  went  up,  morning  by  morning, 
such  ascending  prayers  :  O,  what  descend- 
ing dews  of  grace  would  follow!  How 
sweetly  and  easily  would  the  father  go  about 
his  toil  and  the  mother  to  her  labours,  their 
feet  "  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gos- 
pel of  peace."  What  straight  paths  would 
open  before  the  business  men,  what  safe  es- 
capes before  the  tempted  ;    what   roots  of 


24  Crowded  Out. 

patience,  what  fruits  of  righteousness,  would 
spring  up  and  grow  and  flourish  !  Life  so 
transferred  with  a  full  heart  to  the  Lord's 
keeping  is  lifted  at  once  out  of  the  low 
plane  of  mere  making  money  and  directing 
servants,  as  also  from  the  dead  level  of 
incessant  toil.  A  sense  of  God's  unseen 
legion  makes  us  strong,  the  fresh  breath 
of  his  presence  keeps  down  the  dust ;  and 
all  this  poor  rough-and-tumble  world  is 
changed.  How  can  we  be  angry  with  a 
man  in  the  afternoon,  for  whom  we  have 
eagerly  prayed  in  the  morning  ?  How  chafe 
over  difficulties,  failures,  remembering  al- 
ways, "  It  is  the  Lord  "  ?  Failures,  did  I  say  ? 
in  such  a  life  no  failure  is  possible. 

"  He  always  wins  who  sides  with  God." 

But  too  often  it  is  hurry  in  the  morning 
(or  no  prayers  at  all),  and  at  night  six- 
o'clock  dinners,  seven-o'clock  dinner-par- 


Crowded  Out.  25 


ties ;  the  servants  in  a  press,  the  children 
gone  to  bed.  Or  a  visitor  rings  at  the  door, 
and  nobody  dare  ask  him  to  wait  ( unless 
for  an  incomplete  toilet )  or  better  still, 
will  ask  him  in  to  join  the  family  service. 

But,  say  you,  he  is  a  gay  young  man;  he 
would  not  like  it.  Now  as  a  rule,  I  think 
young  men  like  (or  like  to  witness)  anything 
that  is  real.  Or  you  think  the  visitor  "  does 
not  believe  in  anything,"  —  then  it  is  time 
he  should  know  there  are  people  who  do. 
One  should  not  obtrude  even  the  best 
things.  But  if  the  prayer  hour  were  as 
fixed  as  the  hour  for  dinner,  one  might 
as  properly  invite  in  a  stranger  to  the  one  as 
to  the  other ;  he  having  in  either  case  the 
right  to  refuse.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
pleasure,  when  after  a  long  summer  drive 
to  breakfast  at  a  certain  house,  we  found 
that  the  family  had  waited  our  arrival,  and 
we  all  had  prayers  together  before  the  meal 


26  Crowded  Out. 


was  served.  Too  many  feel  just  the  other 
way.  "  We  must  have  prayers  a  little  early, 
before  they  come,"  —  or  "a  little  late,  after 
they  go." 

Then  as  to  the  children.  It  is  maybe 
better  for  their  health  ( and  doubtless  for 
their  complexions )  to  have  their  bread  and 
milk,  and  go  to  bed  with  only  a  far-off 
whiff  of  the  six-o'clock  roast ;  and  you  can- 
not well  have  prayers  before  that  early 
hour,  for  the  head  of  the  house  is  not  at 
•home.  But  as  I  look  back  to  my  own 
childish  days,  I  would  not,  at  a  venture,  give 
up  the  prayer-time  lessons,  even  for  some- 
what more  of  strength  and  colour.  The 
whole  picture  comes  back  to  me  now.  The 
little  one  of  the  house,  nestled  close  to  her 
who  had  taken  the  mother's  place ;  the 
elder  girl  sitting  apart  in  dignified  erect- 
ness  ;  the  servants,  with  folded  hands  and 
reverent  faces  ;  the  weary  seamstress,  come 


Crowded  Out.  27 


for  a  breath  of  refreshment  after  the  many 
stitches  of  the  day.  I  am  afraid  to  go  on, 
and  tell  what  the  clock  said  !  — 

Children  need  health  of  mind  as  well  as 
of  body ;  and  neither  can  flourish  in  nur- 
sery shade.  I  was  reading  lately  of  some 
one  who  had  questioned  many  people  as 
to  the  time  and  means  of  their  conversion ; 
and  Dr.  Taylor's  answer  is  a  whole  book  of 
practical  wisdom.  "He  did  not  know," 
he  said  :  "he  just  grew  up  into  it."  Ah,  I 
have  seen  such  families,  but  they  are  not 
common.  "  Our  sons  as  plants  grown  up 
in  their  youth.  Our  daughters  as  corner 
stones,  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace"  (Ps.  cxliv.  12). 

But  how  often  do  you  find  that  straight, 
vigorous  growth  of  young  men  ;  filling  the 
world  with  fresh  leafage,  with  precious  fruit  ? 
Where  do  you  see  the  young  women  be- 
coming the  strong  bond  of  the  house,  and 


28  Crowded  Out. 

yet  shining  with  all  exquisite  symmetry 
and  finish  ?  The  boys  are  sent  to  a  hot- 
house to  be  forced,  the  girls  get  their  pol- 
ish at  the  dancing-school. 

Now  a  man  may  much  better  grant  his 
children  less  money  and  more  attention. 
My  father  was  a  professional  man  in  very 
full  practice  ;  but  he  always  found  time  to 
give  us  delightful  breakfast  talks :  talks 
for  which  we  children  had  to  prepare  our- 
selves, he  giving  out  the  subject  before- 
hand. Simple  subjects,  such  as  we  could 
understand  ;  what  if  the  study  stretched 
our  minds  a  little.  "  The  bread-stuffs  of 
the  world,"  —  "  Pitch,  tar,  and  turpentine," 
—  or  "  The  English  Regalia."  Sometimes 
a  name  in  history,  or  a  great  fact,  like 
"Magna  Charta."  Then  we  hunted  and 
studied  and  brought  forth  all  our  learning  ; 
too  happy  when  we  found  some  little  detail 
which  even  our  father  did  not  know.     We 


Crowded  Out.  29 

told,  —  and  he  corrected  and  organized  our 
crude  knowledge.  And  after  tea,  unless 
some  very  pressing  case  was  on  hand,  he 
always  read  aloud  to  us  for  an  hour.  Or  we 
studied  engravings  together,  —  or  turned 
over  books  of  etchings  ;  the  youngest  then 
kneeling  in  a  chair  at  his  side.  Yes,  of 
course,  "we  ought  to  have  been  in  bed," 
—  but  nothing  will  ever  make  me  wish 
that  we  had  !  — 

"  Prayer  is  the  key  of  the  morning,  and 
the  lock  of  night,"  says  some  old  writer : 
happy  is  the  family  whose  day  holds  noth- 
ing which  the  one  may-  not  fitly  open, 
and  the  other  peacefully  close. 

"Happy  is  the  people  that  is  in  such  a 
case  :  yea,  happy  is  the  people  whose  God 
is  the  Lord  "  (Ps.  cxliv.  15). 


A  TIME   FOR    EVERYTHING. 

"/T^O  everything  there  is  a  season,  and  a 
-L      time    to    every  purpose    under  the 
heaven,"  said  the  Preacher.     But  if  a  time, 
then  also  time:  time  for  everything. 

I  shall  be  met  here  with  a  great  shout  of 
derision.  As  if  anybody  ever  had  time  for 
anything  in  this  workaday  world  ?  And  if  I 
go  further,  and  say  that  when  not  it  is  our 
own  fault ;  and  that  our  Master  in  heaven 
never  gives  his  servants  more  to  do  than 
they  can  do  thoroughly  ;  people  will  hold 
up  hands  at  my  ignorance.  Well,  I  have 
lived  as  busy  a  life  as  most,  and  I  repeat 
my  words.  Look  at  it.  Half-done  work 
is  a  thing  the  Lord  cannot  away  with :  the 


A    Time  for  Everything.  31 

finish  of  creation  is  as  marvellous  as  its 
vastness.  Fuller  and  fuller  grows  the  world 
of  life,  the  deeper  in  you  go  ;  but  also  more 
exquisite  grows  each  detail.  Finer  and  finer 
draws  out  the  sting  point  of  a  wasp,  under 
your  more  and  more  powerful  magnifiers  ; 
while  the  smallest  needle  man  ever  made, 
turns  by  degrees  into  a  blunt  crow-bar. 
The  unsuspected  carvings  on  a  fish  scale 
are  dainty  beyond  description :  the  white 
chalk  dust  contains  microscopic  globes  of 
spun  silver,  surpassing  anything  that  Tif- 
fany's most  cunning  workmen  see  even  in 
their  dreams.  The  little  Mellicerta  —  to  the 
naked  eye  as  large  as  an  ordinary  full  stop 
—  has  a  mould  upon  its  chin  wherein  it 
makes  bricks  from  the  muddy  ditch  water  of 
its  surroundings  ;  and  builds  to  itself  thereof 
a  round  tower  of  habitation  or  defence. 
The  minute  creature  has  no  hands  ;  but 
deftly  turning  itself  now  this  way,  now  that, 


32  A   Time  for  Everything, 

adroitly  and  accurately  dumps  out  the  fin- 
ished brick  on  whichever  spot  of  its  wall 
needs  heightening  or  repair. 

"O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works !  in 
wisdom  hast  thou  made  them  all :  the  earth 
is  full  of  thy  riches  "  (Ps.  civ.  24). 

You  may  see  here — and  in  countless 
like  instances  —  what  satisfies  that  all- 
cognizant  eye.  You  understand  now  what 
the  words  in  Genesis  mean :  "  And  God 
saw  everything  that  he  had  made,  and, 
behold,  it  was  very  good"  (Gen.  i.  31). 

Man  only  left  the  perfect  scheme,  and 
went  on  and  "  sought  out  many  inventions." 
Yet  the  rule  is  not  changed  :  the  measure  to 
which  man  should  attain  has  never  been  cut 
down.  And  so  the  Lord's  servants  must 
not  even  "look  back"  from  the  plough; 
must  have  "every  thought  in  captivity  unto 
Christ;"  must  "serve  him  with  a  perfect 
heart ;  "   loving  the  Lord   their  God  with 


A   Time  for  Everything.  33 

"all    the   heart    and    soul    and    mind    and 
strength." 

Is  it  likely  then,  that  he  will  so  arrange 
their  lives  that  the  service  thus  rendered 
shall  be  after  all  only  job-work,  —  crude, 
imperfect,  hurried  through  ?  Will  he  whose 
"  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works," 
make  his  people  only  "to  serve  with  rig- 
our" ?  Or  is  it  probable  that  the  great 
King  whose  "  chariots  are  thousands  of 
angels,"  and  his  messengers  "  an  innumer- 
able company,"  should  constantly  drive  his 
poor  human  servants  to  distraction  ?  It 
was  under  Pharaoh  the  Israelites  had  no 
time  to  breathe,  —  not  under  God. 

No,  the  whole  Bible  denies  it.  And 
while  they  like  other  children  of  Adam 
must  eat  bread  in  the  sweat  of  the  brow, 
for  them  only  falls  the  cool  shadow  on  all 
the  way  of  toil ;  and  they  only  know  that 
"  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  alone." 
3 


34  A    Time  for  EverytJring. 

So  it  may  be,  so  it  should  be.  You  will 
find,  if  you  search  it  out,  that  we  are 
helping  build  "  treasure  cities  "  for  Pharaoh, 
when  our  lives  are  "bitter"  with  every 
day's  "  brick  and  mortar : "  it  is  by  his 
taskmasters  we  are  driven  ;  and  "  bricks 
without  straw "  is  the  wearisome  stint. 
The  feverish  haste  and  unchristian  worry  ; 
the  perpetual  effort  to  do  what  we  cannot, 
to  seem  what  we  are  not,  to  have  what  we 
may  not,  —  is  it  not  like  the  old  days  of  the 
bondage?  "The  people  sighed"  then  — 
and  they  sigh  now !  yet  the  struggle  keeps 
on.  Be  as  rich  as  your  neighbours,  be 
dressed  like  your  friends  ;  go  where  they 
go,  do  what  they  do  ;  hear  all  the  preachers, 
sit  on  all  the  committees,  serve  on  all  the 
boards ;  trim  all  the  dresses,  decorate 
everything  that  can  (or  can  not)  be  deco- 
rated. Anything,  to  keep  the  blood  up  to 
fever  heat. 


A    Time  for  Everything.  3  5 

But,  you  say,  these  things  are  good,  nec- 
essary, and  useful.  In  moderation.  But 
not  for  you,  if  they  crowd  your  life  and 
overset  your  nerves :  so  doing  them,  you 
help  neither  your  friends  nor  the  world. 
Better  three  quiet  minds  on  a  committee, 
than  a  dozen  weary,  hurried  souls.  Better 
the  plainest  bonnet,  crowning  a  fresh, 
cheerful  face ;  or  the  commonest  dress, 
borne  hither  and  thither  with  swift  elastic 
motions  ;  than  all  the  triumphs  of  needle- 
work, trailed  round  on  languid  feet.  Bet- 
ter to  take  all  preachers  but  your  own  on 
trust,  and  rest  yourself  with  a  book  instead 
of  a  lecture. 

Now  indeed  you  hear  all  the  lectures, 
but  have  no  time  for  reading ;  neither  to 
"  keep  up  "  your  music  —  yet  you  attend  all 
the  concerts.  No  leisure,  it  may  be,  to 
teach  the  children  and  answer  their  ques- 
tions, because  you  are  so  very  busy  ruffling 


36  A   Time  for  Everything. 

their  frocks  !  The  home  farm  grows  up  to 
weeds,  while  the  farmer  debates  over  en- 
silage. Or  if  you  are  one  of  those  happy 
people  who  can  be  in  twenty  places  at  once, 
you  will  by  and  by  pay  for  the  distinction 
with  overwrought  nerves  and  broken 
strength.  I  have  seen  a  woman  rush  from 
an  ordination  in  New  Jersey  to  a  luncheon 
in  New  York,  thence  to  a  May  anniversary  ; 
and  thence  —  dear  me,  I  do  not  know 
whither!  Perhaps  by  the  night  train  to  a 
farewell  missionary  meeting  in  Boston. 

But,  you  insist  again,  such  things  are 
right :  some  people's  work,  other  people's 
play.  Do  then  whatever  right  things  you 
can  do  thoroughly,  peacefully,  and  with  no 
undue  crowding  of  hands  or  heart ;  the 
best  things  first.  An  extra  sermon  you 
are  too  weary  to  take  in,  even  from  the 
preacher  of  the  world,  will  not  profit  you 
much :   witness   Eutychus.     A   missionary 


A   Time  for  Every  tiling.  37 

meeting  that  unfits  you  for  mission  work 
at  home,  is  worse  than  useless.  How  often 
we  can  guess  the  fatigue  of  our  friends,  from 
their  irritability ;  and  maybe  hear  (or  use) 
the  sorrowful  excuse  :  "  Forgive  me,  —  I  did 
not  mean  to  speak  so,  —  but  I  am  so  tired  !  " 
Manifestly  there  is  here  some  great  mis- 
take. I  do  not  believe  it  is  the  Lord's 
pleasure  that  his  people  should  live  in  a 
perpetual  rush  and  hurry.  The  whole 
teaching  of  his  work  is  against  it.  Leaf 
by  leaf  the  forest  clothes  itself  with  ver- 
dure; with  slightly  quickened  action  some- 
times after  unavoidable  delays,  but  never 
with  any  haste  that  mars  its  perfection. 
And  from  the  time  when  the  dayspring 
first  "knew  its  place,"  a  steady  "more 
and  more"  has  been  the  only  rule  of 
the  morning. 

"  Yea,  the  stork  in  the  heaven  knoweth 
her  appointed  times,  and  the  turtle  and  the 


38  A    Time  for  Everything. 

crane  and  the  swallow  observe  the  time  of 
their  coming"  (Jer.  viii.  7). 

The  wren  appears  by  the  last  of  April, 
and  the  catbirds  on  the  tenth  of  May. 
Absolute,  regular  order,  without  pressure, 
without  delay,  is  the  law  of  the  natural 
world.  And  in  revelation  it  is  the  same. 
The  very  crown  of  Christian  life  in  the 
Bible  is  to  be  "always  abounding,"  and  yet 
at  rest :  everything  being  adjusted  with 
that  wonderful  poise  and  balance  which 
is  at  the  antipodes  of  all  breathlessness, 
hurry,  and  confusion.  A  soul  "  dwelling 
at  ease;"  a  heart  "quiet  from  fear  of  evil;" 
abiding  in  the  shadow  of  a  great  peace. 

"  A  faith  that  shines  more  bright  and  clear 
When  tempests  rage  without ; 
That  even  in  danger  feels  no  fear, 
In  darkness  knows  no  doubt." 

And  that  even  in  the  face  of  imminent  need, 
can  "  both  hope,  and  quietly  wait  for  the 
Lord." 


A   Time  for  Everything.  39 

"  Consider  the  lilies,  how  they  grow " 
(Matt.  vi.  28). 

"  Better  is  an  handful  with  quietness, 
than  both  the  hands  full,  with  travail  and 
vexation  of  spirit "  (Eccl.  iv.  6). 

Quietness  indeed  is  the  watchword  of 
these  old  Bible  saints  :  "  in  quietness  and 
in  confidence  "  is  all  their  "  strength."  Thus 
they  are  "  diligent  in  business "  —  but 
also  "study  to  be  quiet:"  "serving  God 
day  and  night,"  yet  "  casting  all  their  care 
upon  him  : "  "  redeeming  the  time,"  and 
still  taking  "  no  thought  for  the  morrow." 
The  lilies  themselves  grow  not  more  softly 
and  surely  to  their  fragrant  bloom  ;  the 
birds  of  the  air  do  not  more  simply  and 
unquestioningly  live  by  the  hourly  rule  : 

"  That  thou  givest  them,  they  gather " 
(Ps.  civ.  28). 

It  may  be  more  yesterday  and  less  to- 
day ;  it  may  be  now  dainties,  and  then  but 


40  A    Time  for  Every  tiling. 

daily  bread  :  yet  all  coming  "  from  the 
good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,"  they  have 
learned  "in  whatsoever  state"  they  are, 
"  therewith  to  be  content." 

Thus  they  "  eat  their  bread  with  joy,"  and 
their  daily  path  is  "  by  the  waters  of  quiet- 
ness." They  "  do  their  work  with  quiet- 
ness," —  they  "  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life ;  "  and  wear  "  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit." 

These  are  not  the  prevailing  fashions  of 
the  day,  even  among  church  members. 
Look  at  the  restless  eyes,  the  anxious 
faces :  note  the  dull  murmur  of  unsatisfied 
desire,  swelling  every  now  and  then  into 
absolute  complaint.  Hear  the  Christian 
women  worry  over  their  housekeeping : 
see  the  up-town  religious  man  at  the 
down-town  Exchange.  Hat  pushed  back, 
coat  thrown  open,  eyes  wild,  hands  out- 
stretched, voice  uplifted ;  shouting,  gesticu- 
lating, grasping,  with  the  rest. 


A    Time  for  Everything.  41 

"  My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so 
to  be  "  (Jas.  iii.  10). 

Should  •'  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  " 
put  off  his  uniform  and  wear  a  common 
dress,  that  he  may  make  a  better  bargain  ? 
Or  "  an  Israelite  indeed "  be  ever  seen 
without  the  "ribband  of  blue,"  the  royal 
colours  ?  "  Ye  shall  wear  it,"  said  the  Lord, 
"  that  ye  may  remember  and  do  all  my 
commandments,  and  be  holy  unto  your 
God  "  (Num.  xv.  40). 

In  a  great  Ward  school  which  I  visited 
once,  you  could  pick  out  the  Jewish  chil- 
dren, all  over  the  room,  by  the  little  closed 
mouths  and  silent  lips  when  the  praises 
of  Jesus  were  sung.  Ah,  why  will  not 
people  be  as  true  to  the  true  as  they  are 
to  the  false  !  For  just  so,  should  a  believer 
be  known,  even  on  'Change,  as  no  wor- 
shipper of  mammon,  no  truster  in  "  uncer- 
tain riches."     What  though,  like  the  three 


42  A    Time  for  Everything. 

in  Babylon,  he  must  stand  alone,  while  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  are  on  their  knees 
before  the  golden  image. 

"  Let  your  moderation  be  known  unto 
all  men  "  (Phil.  iv.  5). 

"Walk  as  children  of  light"  (Eph.  v.  8). 

Is  it  only  "  a  woman's  view  "  ?  But 
there  surely  must  be  a  righteous  way  of 
doing  righteous  things,  —  and  the  ^//righ- 
teous should  as  surely  be  let  alone.  If  that 
also  is  a  woman's  view,  it  would  take  a  wise 
man  to  dispute  it.  Let  the  dwellers  at 
home  too  remember  this.  For  how  should 
a  Christian  woman  fret  ?  even  over  dust 
and  unfaithful  service. 

"  I  beseech  you  by  the  meekness  and 
gentleness  of  Christ "  (2  Cor.  x.  1). 

They  are  genuine  annoyances,  these 
things :  the  host  of  trifling  items  in  our 
daily  life  which  ought  to  be  different :  the 
bad   fitting  of   a   dress,  the  imperfections 


A   Time  for  Everything.  43 

of  a  cook,  the  stupidity  of  a  messenger  ; 
not  to  speak  of  the  unreasonableness  which 
now  and  then  crops  out  in  a  friend.  We 
have  (and  should  have)  an  honest  dislike 
to  them  all.  Set  them  straight  if  you  can, 
—  if  a  few  wise  words  will  do  it. 

"  Ye  which  are  spiritual  restore  such  an 
one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  "  (Gal.  vi.  1). 

But  if  not,  take  a  long  breath  of  silence 
and  press  on.  "  The  talk  of  the  lips  tend- 
eth  only  to  penury  : "  both  of  time  and 
patience.  You  may  soon  outstrip  the 
grievance,  if  you  will  but  leave  it  where  it 
belongs,  by  the  wayside.  Stop  to  wonder 
and  complain,  and  it  will  spring  to  your 
shoulders  like  Sindbad's  old  man  of  the 
sea,  and  ride  you  all  the  day.  The  mis- 
chievous insect  horde  can  do  little  to  hurt 
a  plant  that  is  in  full  rich  growth ;  with 
head  in  the  sunshine,  and  roots  struck  deep 
"  by  the  rivers  of  water." 


44  A   Time  for  Everything. 

I  have  called  them  trifles  —  for  trifles  they 
are,  in  a  world  of  life  and  death  and  souls 
of  men;  but  even  in  the  face  of  much  more 
serious  evils,  still  u  Vor-warts  !  "  —  as  the 
German  officer  said,  with  kindly  quiet  firm- 
ness, when  his  little  troop  faltered  before  a 
hail  of  bullets. 

"  Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ?  Be 
strong  and  of  a  good  courage"  (Josh.  i.  9). 

"  Doe  the  nexte  thynge,"  —  and  wait  for 
the  next  but  one  till  it  comes  ;  letting 
neither  the  good  of  something  you  long  for, 
nor  the  disagreeableness  of  something  you 
wish  well  over,  flurry  your  spirits.  Walk 
round  Jericho  thirteen  times,  if  need  be, 
but  take  also  for  that  the  allotted  hours.  If 
you  crowd  into  one  day  the  work  marked 
out  for  seven,  you  will  be  too  much  out  of 
breath  to  shout  when  the  time  comes,  and 
the  walls  will  maybe  never  fall. 

"  By  faith  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell  down, 


A   Time  for  Every  tiling.  45 

after  they  were  compassed  about  seven 
days  "  (Heb.  xi.  30). 

"  Behold,  the  husbandman  waiteth  for 
the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath 
long  patience  for  it,  until  he  receive  the 
early  and  latter  rain  "  (Jas.  v.  7). 

And  we,  poor  blunderers,  think  one  rain 
might  do  ;  planting  our  little  seeds  deep, 
and  our  great  ones  on  the  surface ;  and  the 
length  of  our  patience  is  not  worth  meas- 
uring. We  think  everything  that  will 
grow,  must  grow  at  once. 

Yes,  patience  does  seem  very  "  long " 
sometimes;  and  "after  many  days"  looks 
far  away:  but  it  will  come,  —  and  the  weary 
toiler  shall  return,  "  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him."  Sheaves  from  many,  an  un- 
noted field,  trophies  from  many  an  unre- 
corded battle  ;  all  won,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  by  "  patient  continuance." 

Then  give  everything  the   full   time    it 


46  A    Time  for  Everything. 

needs  for  perfect  development.  Be  as 
eager  as  you  like,  but  keep  all  restless 
hurry  out  of  your  heart  and  tongue  and  life ; 
it  is  the  sure  cause  of  many  failures,  many 
mistakes.  In  his  haste,  David  called  "  all 
men  liars"  (Ps.  cxvi.  1 1),  ready  to  say  no  one 
could  be  trusted.  Worse  than  that,  his  flur- 
ried spirit  thought  God  had  forgotten  him. 

"  I  said  in  my  haste,  I  am  cut  off  from 
before  thine  eyes  "  (Ps.  xxxi.  22). 

"  Seest  thou  a  man  hasty  in  his  words  ? 
there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of  him  " 
(Prov.  xxix.  20). 

And  the  rule  goes  deeper  than  mere 
speech.  "  Be  not  hasty  in  thy  spirit  to 
be  angry  "  (Prov.  vii.  9).  "  If  there  is  any 
occasion,"  adds  the  human  proverb,  "you 
will  have  time  enough." 

Do  you  think  I  would  have  an  easy- 
going, slack-handed  race  of  people  ?  Not 
so  :  they  are  to  be  not  only  "  diligent  in 


A    Time  for  Everything.  47 

business,"  but  also  "  fervent  in  spirit  ; " 
with  the  genial  glow  which  goes  with  all 
wholesome  action. 

"The  king's  business  requireth  haste" 
(1  Sam.  xxi.  8). 

Even  Gabriel  had  to  "fly  swiftly,"  to  be 
in  time.  "  Run,  speak  to  this  young  man," 
said  one  angel  to  another  in  the  days  of 
Zechariah.  But  the  Bible  haste  is  utterly 
unlike  our  hurry,  and  means  only  this  :  the 
utmost  speed  that  consists  with  the  most 
perfect  going,  and  the  least  possible  delay. 
It  never  means  more,  nor  less  :  the  "how" 
is  never  merged  in  the  "  when." 

"  I  will  run  the  way  of  thy  command- 
ments" (Ps.  cxix.  32). 

It  is  the  daily  rule.     But  so  also  is  this : 

"Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet"  (Prov. 
iv.  26). 

"  The  prudent  man  looketh  well  to  his 
going"  (Prov.  xiv.  15). 


48  A    Time  for  Everything. 

"  The  wisdom  of  the  prudent  is  to  under- 
stand his  way  "  (Prov.  xiv.  8). 

Being  all  summed  up  in  one  other  word  : 

"  My  soul  followeth  hard  after  thee " 
(Ps.  Ixiii.  8). 

"  I  made  haste,  and  delayed  not,  to  keep 
thy  commandments  "  (Ps.  cxix.  66). 

There  is  plenty  of  such  running  in  the 
Bible :  quickened  steps  from,  quickened 
powers  and  a  heart  astir.  Thus  Abraham, 
with  three  heavenly  guests  to  entertain, 
"  hastened  into  the  tent  to  Sarah,"  and 
then  "ran  unto  the  herd."  Thus  Aaron, 
when  the  sin-invited  plague  had  broken  out 
among  the  people,  caught  up  his  censer, 
"  and  ran  into  the  midst  of  the  congrega- 
tion," and  "  stood  between  the  dead  and 
the  living."  The  wife  of  Manoah  "  made 
haste  and  ran"  to  find  her  husband,  that 
he  too  might  hear  the  heavenly  message ; 
and    David,  with    his   five   smooth  stones, 


A   Time  for  Everything.  49 

"  hasted  and  ran "  to  meet  the  Philistine, 
the  staff  of  whose  spear  was  "  like  a  weav- 
er's beam."  Elijah,  at  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  outstripped  the  king's  chariot,  —  the 
father  in  the  parable  ran  "a  great  way" 
to  meet  his  repentant  son  ;  and  the  disci- 
ples at  Lystra  "  ran  in  "  to  restrain  the 
crowd  who  were  sounding  their  praises. 
But  these  were  all  cases  of  legitimate,  well- 
ordered  haste  ;  and  so  the  actors  moved 
under  the  shadowing  of  the  promise  : 

"  When  thou  run  nest,  thy  foot  shall  not 
stumble"  (Prov.  iv.  12). 

Nay  more,  of  this  : 

"  They  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary " 
(Is.  xl.  31). 

No  mistakes,  no  confusion,  were  possible. 

"  I  therefore  so  run," — said  Paul,  —  "not 
as  uncertainly  "  (1  Cor.  ix.  26). 

They  followed  the  Lord  so  close,  that 
there  was  no  doubt  which  way  he  was 
4 


50  A    Time  for  Everything. 

leading ;  and  they  went  as  fast  as  he  led 
them. 

Yes,  "  haste,"  "  speed,"  "  run,"  are  good 
Bible  words,  with  an  urgent  Bible  meaning  ; 
but  it  is  only  such  glad  pressure  as  the  sun 
is  in,  which  moment  by  moment,  and  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  one,  "  hasteth  to 
his  place  whence  he  arose."  There  is  all 
the  difference  in  the  world  between  the 
haste  which  comes  from  crowding,  and  that 
which  springs  forward  with  intense  conse- 
cration to  the  work  in  hand  ;  saying,  for  the 
time  :  "  This  one  thing  I  do." 

Everything  in  the  Bible  is  against  our 
feverish  rush.  The  good  seed  in  the  good 
ground,  with  its  vigorous,  ceaseless,  fruitful 
growth,  is  compared  with  those  who  "  hav- 
ing heard  the  word,  keep  it,  and  bring  forth 
fruit  with  patience." 

"  First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear  "  (Mark  iv.  28). 


A    Time  for  Everything.  5 1 

It  is  so  in  nature,  it  is  so  in  grace ;  it 
should  be  so  in  every  department  of  human 
life.  "  Let  thy  garments  be  alway  white"  — 
even  "  unspotted,"  —  but  how  can  that  be, 
if  you  rush  through  this  muddy  world  at 
such  breakneck  speed  ?  Take  the  simple 
Bible  image  :  Christ's  flock  are  "  led," 
"guided,"  "shepherded;"  and  through  dif- 
fering little  paths  they  follow  on ;  pausing  to 
feed,  stopping  to  rest,  drinking  "  of  the  brook 
in  the  way."  The  rush  and  confusion  come 
only  when  they  are  drawn  off  from  their 
Shepherd  by  some  sudden  allurement,  or 
are  frightened  away  by  some  foolish  dread. 
As  if  He  did  not  know  !  —  as  if  He  would 
not  take  care ! 

Do  you  ever  wait  to  make  sure  the  Lord 
is  before  you,  in  those  ways  you  tread  so 
rapidly  ?  You  hurry  in,  not  thinking  ;  you 
hurry  on,  not  looking  ;  and  thus  many  a 
thing  is  done  which  should  not  (and  other- 


52  A   Time  for  Everything. 

wise  would  not)  be  ;  while  many  another  is 
neglected  ;  and  the  same  excuse  is  spread 
over  all :  want  of  time.  No  leisure  to 
study  your  plans  by  the  light  of  the  Bible- 
lamp  ;  too  driven  to  keep  your  temper :  in 
the  melee  how  often  patience  goes  down, 
and  meekness,  and  sometimes  truth. 

"  What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  all 
his  benefits  toward  me?"  (Ps.  cxvi.  12.) 

Shall  it  be  a  life  like  that  ? 

Nay,  it  is  all  wrong,  —  all  the  greatest 
mistake  :  for  I  do  verily  believe  that  this 
high  pressure  is  quite  our  own  fault.  I 
believe  that  nothing  need  be  neglected 
in  the  busiest  life:  nothing  which  the 
Lord  has  given  us  to  do.  Idleness  has 
no  room  there  :  neither  work  not  given  : 
neither  unhelpful  play :  and  it  is  when 
we  let  in  one  or  all  of  these,  that  we 
get  hurried,  worried,  and  out  of  breath. 
For  arrears  are  always  hard  to  meet ;  the 


A    Time  for  Everything.  53 

only  way  with  time  as  with  money  is  to 
keep  out  of  debt.  Like  Jane  Taylor's  dis- 
contented pendulum,  we  must  learn  that 
however  many  ticks  we  can  think  of  in  a 
second,  or  may  execute  in  a  year,  there  is 
always  given  for  each  the  moment  to  tick 
in.  And  if  the  clock  stands  steady,  and 
the  pendulum  hangs  true,  every  tick  will 
have  its  full,  round  proportions,  and  mark 
off  its  atom  of  finished  work.  So  shall  the 
"  fulness  of  time  "  take  its  place  with  "  the 
patience  of  hope,"  and  "the  labour  of  love." 


THE  TANGLED   SKEIN. 

IN  the  old  fairy  tale,  a  young  girl  is  set 
down  to  her  embroidery  before  a  great 
heap  of  tangled  silk.  Skeins  of  every  colour, 
of  every  shade,  are  there ;  but  all  mixed, 
twisted,  snarled,  in  hopeless  confusion.  A 
fair  pattern  lies  there  too :  a  pansy,  a 
"  heartsease  ; "  and  from  the  heap  of  con- 
fusion she  must  draw  all  her  materials  with 
which  to  work  a  perfect  copy  of  the  flower 
of  peace.  And  she  gazes  from  one  to  the 
other,  and  drops  her  hands  in  despair. 
Like  this,  it  seems  to  me,  looks  many  a 
life  :  and  even  so  hangs  many  a  hand,  that 
has  countless  exquisite  shining  threads 
within  its  reach.      The  material   is   ready, 


The  Tangled  Skein.  55 

the  pattern  is  given  ;  and  yet  confusion 
rules,  and  perplexity  reigns,  and  there  is 
little  "fruit  to  perfection."  All  the  fine 
powers  and  possibilities  are  knotted  and 
clogged ;  a  strand  of  blue  ends  abruptly  in 
a  tangle  of  yellow  ;  or  red  is  twined  in 
until  the  whole  thing  looks  purple.  Yet 
there  lies  the  calm-faced  pattern,  to  shew 
what  may  be  done  ;  and  before  it  many 
a  poor  worker  breaks  down  in  tears.  And 
then  comes  in  the  cunning  temptation  to 
give  up  matching  colours  exactly,  and  after 
a  pull  at  the  right,  to  take  instead  an  easier- 
running  thread  of  wrong.  What  we  in  our 
very  incorrect  phrasing,  call  "  doing  the 
best  we  can."  The  white  thread  is  in  a- 
knot,  —  catch  up  a  gray  one  and  work  with 
that  :  the  blue  is  tangled  —  make  shift 
with  the  purple.  But  you  can  never  work 
out  heartsease  so. 

In  the   story,  nothing  brought   the   dis- 


$6  The  Tangled  Skein, 

tracting  mass  to  terms,  but  the  wand  of  the 
fairy  Order  ;  and  only  Christian  order  can 
ever  smooth  out  our  life  task;  making  the 
threads  run  clear  and  even,  working  out 
the  plan,  enabling  us  to  say  at  the  end  :  "  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight  ;  I  have  finished 
my  course  ;  I  have  kept  the  faith." 

Christian  order:  the  counsel,  the  guiding, 
the  touch,  of  Him  who  "telleth  the  num- 
ber of  the  stars,"  and  "  calleth  them  all  by 
their  names"  (Ps.  cxlvii.  4).  Out  of  dark- 
ness and  silence  and  seething  mist,  came 
forth  at  his  word  the  endless  harmonies  of 
nature  ;  and  chaos  passed  into  a  world  of 
regular  development,  lit  up  with  colour, 
beautified  with  form,  full  of  hidden  wealth 
and  untold  forces  ;  and  yet  through  all : 

"  With  never  a  leaf  or  a  blade  too  mean 
To  be  some  happy  creature's  palace." 

Like  that  I  would  wish  my  life  to  be,  — 
with  all  least  things,  as  all  greater  ones, 


The  Tangled  Skein.  57 

doing  their  sweet  work  ceaselessly,  from 
day  to  day.  The  duties  joys,  the  minutes 
golden ;  the  life  course  no  longer  a  torment- 
ing maze  or  a  disheartening  hurry,  but  what 
every  one's  life  should  be :  the  clear  work- 
ing out  of  "  a  plan  of  God."  How  good, 
how  blessed,  how  grand,  his  plan  —  for  the 
least  of  us  —  is  sure  to  be  ;  enfolding  for 
each  the  very  best  possibilities,  the  very 
highest  results  of  which  that  one  is  capable. 

And  in  what  region  of  earth,  do  you  ask, 
could  such  constant  success  be  possible  ? 
Just  here  where  you  stand.  "  The  word 
is  very  nigh  thee."  And  no  one  could 
ever  miss  it,  were  only  "  He  spake,  and  it 
was  done  "  the  rule  of  the  human  as  of  the 
material  creation.  The  best  cure,  the  only 
sure  preventive,  of  confusion,  worry,  and 
failure,  lies  in  the  simple  Bible  words : 

"Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it" 
(John  ii.  5). 


58  The  Tangled  Skein. 

Choose  so  heartily  the  Lord's  will  con- 
cerning yourself  and  all  other  things,  that 
to  know  that  shall  be  your  only  question. 
Claim  his  promise  :  "  I  will  guide  thee  with 
mine  eye"  (Ps.  xxxii.  8). 

And  then,  "  be  not  as  the  horse  or  as  the 
mule,  whose  mouth  must  be  held  in  with 
bit  and  bridle  ;  "  but  "  understanding  what 
the  will  of  the  Lord  is,"  be  ready  with  the 
answer  :  "  Here  am  I :  send  me  "  (Is.  vi.  8). 
Having  asked  him  to  lead,  then  follow. 
When  he  bids  you  "  depart  far  hence  unto 
the  Gentiles,"  go ;  however  much  you  would 
like  to  stay  and  preach  to  the  people  at 
home.  Or  if  he  says  :  "  Return  unto  thine 
own  house,  and  tell  how  great  things  the 
Lord  hath  done  for  thee,"  do  that  too  : 
even  though  you  might  greatly  prefer  to 
be  "  with  him "  in  more  distinguished 
places.  Even  if  in  the  midst  of  an  ava- 
lanche of  work  he  calls  you  "  apart  into 


The  Tangled  Skein.  59 

a  desert  place  to  rest  awhile,"  —  and  even 
if  the  desert  mean  only  a  headache  or  a 
rainy  day  instead  of  a  journey, — make  no 
complaint,  but  follow  close  ;  sure  only  that 
Christ  is  in  the  ship  and  will  be  upon  the 
land  whither  you  go  for  rest ;  or  it  may  be 
in  the  darkened  room.  Peter,  "between 
two  soldiers,  bound  with  two  chains,"  slept 
so  sweetly,  that  he  could  hardly  rouse  up 
to  see  an  angel. 

Perhaps  all  the  best  churches  are  sup- 
plied,—  perhaps  all  the  regular  classes  have 
teachers,  and  there  is  nothing  left  for  you 
but  the  driblets.  I  went  through  that  ex- 
perience once,  and  I  know  how  it  feels. 
Class  after  class  was  disposed  of,  until  only 
the  so-called  poorest  class  remained  :  a  little 
tangle  of  two  or  three  very  inconspicuous 
bits  of  humanity.  The  superintendent  ap- 
proached me  with  apologetic  caution.  "  I 
don't  know  what  to  do,"  he  said,  hesitating. 


60  The  Tangled  Skein. 

"  You  see  Miss refused  that  class,  — 

so  I  had  to  give  her  another." 

Well,  I  had  not  come  there  to  "  refuse  " 
anything;  although,  being  human  like  the 
rest,  I  did  think  the  big  Bible  classes  looked 
very  pleasant.  But  I  took  my  place ;  and 
soon  found  (as  we  always  do)  that  where 
the  Lord  puts  us,  it  is  good  to  be.  The 
superintendent  however  was  not  content ; 
and  when  a  few  weeks  later  I  was  pro- 
moted (as  he  thought  it)  I  went  to  my  new 
duties  with  rather  a  sad  heart.  For  one 
of  my  small  hard-faced  creatures  got  hold 
of  my  hand,  and  said  :  "  I  don't  want  you 
to  go!"  Sad  and  ashamed  too,  —  that  I 
could  ever  have  had  any  thought  but  one, 
about  work  in  the  weediest  corner,  or  on 
the  dustiest  highway.  Like  the  then  but 
half-converted  disciple,  so  little  absorbed 
in  the  mighty  charge  and  question  to  my- 
self,  that    I   found    time    to    ask,    "Lord, 


The  Tangled  Skein.  6 1 


and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  "  And  Jesus 
answered  him :  "  What  is  that  to  thee  ? 
follow  thou  me"  (John  xxi.  22).  Promotion 
is  rather  a  sharp-edged  thing,  when  it  makes 
you  suddenly  feel  how  many  sizes  too  small 
you  are  for  your  present  place. 

In  this  world,  filled  to  its  last  corner 
with  work  that  should  be  done,  one  needs 
a  very  single  eye,  a  very  self-controlled 
hand,  a  very  heaven-directed  heart,  to  pick 
out  just  his  own  work  and  no  other.  For 
"  the  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the 
labourers  are  few."  And  the  time  is  short. 
There  is  time  to  accomplish  what  we  have 
to  do,  but  not  an  atom  too  much.  The 
poor  child  in  the  story,  weeping  over  her 
task,  must  yet  finish  it  "  before  dinner,"  — 
and  we  also  ours,  before  "  the  night  cometh, 
wherein  no  man  can  work."  There  will 
be  no  chance  for  it  later  on.  Yet  all  the 
more  need  is  there  to  keep  clear  of  confu- 


62  The  Ta?igled  Skein. 


sion :  to  draw  out  the  right  working  thread 
and  have  it  run  freely  and  without  a  hitch. 
And  I  know  of  no  way  like  this  :  "  What- 
soever he  saith  unto  you,  do  it  "  (John  ii.  5). 
"  Ye  shall  not  add  unto  the  word  which  I 
command  you,  neither  shall  ye  diminish 
from  it,  that  ye  may  keep  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord  your  God,  which  I 
command  you"  (Deut.  iv.  2). 

Then  you  will  not  be  tempted  by  the 
brilliant  threads  of  scarlet  that  lie  so  close 
at  hand  :  a  pansy  —  not  a  poppy  —  is  your 
allotted  task.  Work  in  lovingly  and  pa- 
tiently the  quiet  blues  and  purples ;  and 
if  from  your  flower  all  gayer  tints  are  lack- 
ing, yet  be  not  cast  down.  The  darkest 
heartsease  hath  ever  a  golden  eye  ;  and 
when  the  last  stitches  are  in,  you  will 
know  it  too.  "At  evening  time  it  shall  be 
light." 


The  Tangled  Skein.  63 


"  As  God  leads  me,  will  I  go, 

Nor  choose  my  way. 
Let  him  choose  the  joy  or  woe 

Of  every  day. 
They  cannot  hurt  my  soul, 
Because  in  his  control : 
I  leave  to  him  the  whole,  — 

His  children  may. 

"  As  God  leads  me,  I  am  still 

Within  his  hand : 
Though  his  purpose  my  self-will 

Doth  oft  withstand. 
Yet  I  wish  that  none 
But  his  will  be  done, 
Till  the  end  be  won, 

That  he  hath  planned. 

"  As  God  leads  me,  so  my  heart 

In  faith  shall  rest. 
Nor  grief  nor  joy  my  soul  shall  part 

From  Jesus'  breast. 
In  sweet  belief  I  know, 
Which  way  my  life  doth  go  — 
Since  God  permitteth  so  — 

That  must  be  best." 


64  The  Tangled  Skein, 

So  living,  you  see  at  once  no  failure  is 
possible, —  neither  can  confusion  creep  in. 
Step-by-step  following,  is  the  most  quieting, 
disentangling  thing  in  all  the  world. 

In  the  parable  of  the  supper,  the  ser- 
vants did  not  rush  blindly  on  ;  but  went 
and  came,  went  and  came,  between  their 
Master  and  their  work.  He  knew  what  he 
wanted  done,  they  wanted  to  do  nothing 
else.  And  never  people  wrought  with  more 
close-knit  efficiency ;  seeming  as  fresh  at 
the  end  of  their  day's  work  as  at  the  be- 
ginning. Fresher,  in  fact ;  for  they  went 
from  "  calling "  to  "  bringing,"  and  from 
that  to  "compelling;"  but  always  with  a, 
"Lord,  it  is  done  as  thou  hast  commanded." 

"  They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength"  (Is.  xl.  21). 

For  want  of  just  that  quiet  on  waiting 
(as  if  the  morning  orders  could  cover  all 
the  day)  we  undertake  rashly,  drive  on  un- 


The  Tangled  Skein.  65 

wisely,  make  mistakes,  stop  to  worry  — 
and  then  the  work  piles  up.  Now  the 
promise  is :  "I  will  instruct  thee  and  teach 
thee  in  the  way  which  thou  shalt  go" 
(Ps.  xxxvi.  6). 

Hour  by  hour,  and  step  by  step.  No 
tangle  of  difficulties  shall  then  distress  my 
feet. 

"  I  will  lead  them  in  paths  they  have  not 
known"  (Isa.  xlii.  16). 

No  night  of  confused  uncertainty  delay 
my  going. 

"  The  darkness  and  the  light  are  both 
alike  to  thee"  (Ps.  exxxix.  12). 

Even  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day 
shall  not  long  weigh  down  my  heart : 

"I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel"  (Hosea 
xiv.  5). 

And  the  tumult  of  opposition  must  grant 
me  a  safe  passage  through  ;  "  for  he  know- 
eth  all  the  fords." 

5 


66  The  Tangled  Skein. 


"  He  bindeth  the  floods  from  overflow- 
ing" (Job  xxviii.  i). 

"  The  Lord  sitteth  upon  the  flood  ;  yea, 
the  Lord  sitteth  King  for  ever"  (Ps.  xxix. 

10). 

How  easily  and  sweetly  it  follows  then : 
"  The  Lord  will  give  strength  unto  his 
people  ;  the  Lord  will  bless  his  people  with 
peace"  (Ps.  xxix.  n). 

I  do  not  like  to  hear  of  "  overworked  " 
Christians  :  it  seems  an  anomaly.  And  as 
little  should  they  ever  dwell  in  confusion. 
Not  that  there  will  be  no  questions  to  pon- 
der, no  puzzles  to  see  through :  follow  close 
as  you  may,  you  cannot  know  until  you 
know,  which  way  the  Lord  is  leading.  He 
may  put  the  Red  Sea  before  you, — he  may 
suffer  Pharaoh  to  overtake :  or  he  may  ap- 
point you  a  long  time  of  seemingly  useless 
waiting.  But  there  need  be  no  unrest,  no 
flurried  thoughts. 


The  Tangled  Skein.  67 

"  Great  peace  have  they  that  love  thy 
law,  and  nothing  shall  offend  them  "  (Ps. 
cxix.  165). 

"  And  so  it  was,  when  the  cloud  abode 
from  even  unto  the  morning,  and  the  cloud 
was  taken  up  in  the  morning,  then  they 
journeyed :  whether  by  day  or  by  night  that 
the  cloud  was  taken  up,  they  journeyed.  Or 
whether  it  were  two  days,  or  a  month,  or  a 
year,  that  the  cloud  tarried  upon  the  taber- 
nacle, remaining  thereon,  the  children  of 
Israel  abode  in  their  tents,  and  journeyed 
not :  but  when  it  was  taken  up,  they  jour- 
neyed. At  the  commandment  of  the  Lord 
they  rested  in  their  tents,  and  at  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  they  journeyed" 
(Num.  ix.  21-23). 

For  the  prayer  of  Israel  in  their  right 
minds,  is  ever : 

"  If  thy  presence  go  not  with  me,  carry 
us  not  up  hence"  (Ex.  xxxiii.  15). 


68  The  Tangled  Skein. 

Absolutely  sure  then  to  work  out  the  old 
blessed  experience  of  the  Lord's  daily  care: 

"  Who  went  before  you,  to  search  you 
out  a  place  to  pitch  your  tents  in"  (Deut. 

i-  33). 

Marching  under  the  triumphant  stand- 
ard of  unnumbered  fights,  which  never  yet 
a  shot  could  pierce  nor  weather  stain. 

"  Jehovah-nissi"   (Ex.  xvii.  15). 

"His  banner  over  us"  is  "love"  (Cant, 
ii.  4). 

And  on  that  flag,  most  truly,  "  the  sun 
never  sets." 

"The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  :  I  shall  not 
want"  (Ps.  xxiii.  1). 

You  see  how  easy  it  is  to  be  quiet  from 
fear  of  evil :  you  see  how  in  so  simply 
straightforward  a  life  there  can  be  little 
real  perplexity.  The  Lord  will  indeed  "  be 
inquired  of  for  this,"  but  then  he  will  hear. 

"David  enquired  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Shall 


The  Tangled  Skein.  69 

I  go  up  into  any  of  the  cities  of  Judah? 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  up.  And 
David  said,  Whither  shall  I  go  up  ?  And 
he  said,  Unto  Hebron"  (2  Sam.  ii.  1). 

It  is  as  simple  as  that. 

"  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask 
of  God"  (Jas.  i.  5). 

We  may  need  to  pray: 

"  Lead  me  in  a  plain  path,  because  of 
mine  enemies  "  (Ps.  xxvii.  1). 

"  Make  thy  way  straight  before  my  face  " 
(Ps.  v.  8). 

But  the  answer  is  sure :  "  The  meek  will 
he  guide  in  judgment "  (Ps.  xxv.  9). 

"  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and 
he  shall  direct  thy  paths  "  (Prov.  hi.  6). 

"  Cause  me  to  know  the  way  wherein  I 
should  walk,"  —  cries  the  troubled  one. 

And  the  promise  is  unfailing  : 

"  The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually  " 
(Is.  xxviii.  11). 


70  The  Tangled  Skein. 

"And  thine  ears  shall  hear  a  voice  be- 
hind thee,  saying,  This  is  the  way,  walk 
ye  in  it,  when  ye  turn  to  the  right  hand, 
and  when  ye  turn  to  the  left  "  (Is.  xxx.  21). 

But  how  many  people  nowadays  have 
restful  souls  ?  —  restful  and  resting.  How 
many,  like  their  Master,  can  sleep  when 
there  is  "a  great  storm  of  wind,"  "a  great 
tempest  in  the  sea,"  and  "  the  ship  covered 
with  the  waves "  ?  True,  he  knew  that 
he  could  lay  the  tempest  —  but  they  know 
it  too.  "  There  shall  no  harm  happen  to  the 
vessel  wherein  Christ  is,"  wrote  Samuel 
Rutherford  :  "  but  the  crazed  ship  and  the 
seasick  passengers  shall  both  get  safe  to 
land." 

But  remember  the  words  with  which  we 
set  out : 

"Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 

Faith  is  quite  useless  without  obedience. 


NOW. 

ANOTHER  plain  and  very  disentan- 
gling rule  (and  a  wonderful  time- 
saver)  is  this  : 

"As  we  have  therefore  opportunity" 
(Gal.  vi.  10). 

O,  what  trouble  comes  by  the  disregard 
of  it !  For  want  of  thought,  or  through 
mere  supineness,  the  right  moment  for  a 
word,  a  deed,  slips  by  unheeded,  and  we 
tire  ourselves  out  in  the  search  for  it  again. 
Yesterday  I  could  have  given  such  a  one  a 
word  of  counsel,  —  to-day  I  have  run  all  over 
town  and  cannot  find  him.  Of  course  the 
proper  work  of  to-day  lies  by  meanwhile. 
Why  did  I  not  speak  yesterday  ? —  probably 


72  Now. 

I  was  timid,  or  shy,  or  self-indulgent ;  and 
now  if  I  am  mercifully  allowed  another  op- 
portunity, it  can  be  but  a  second  best. 
Well  for  my  uneasy  conscience  if  both  man 
and  opportunity  have  not  drifted  for  ever 
beyond  my  reach.  To-day  I  can  give  a 
little  much-needed  help  :  by  to-morrow  the 
help  may  be  useless,  or  my  power  gone  ; 
or  it  will  take  twice  the  labour,  with  half  the 
success.  The  very  fact  that  I  held  back 
to-day,  will  put  me  at  a  disadvantage  to- 
morrow. Yesterday  my  violets  would  have 
sweetened  a  sick-room,  —  to-day  they  are 
withered.  Why  were  they  not  sent  yester- 
day ?  O,  I  was  so  busy.  But  to-day  I 
must  first  take  time  to  find  fresh  ones,  and 
then  maybe  carry  them  all  too  late.  The 
pale  sufferer  has  gone  where  "  everlasting 
spring  abides,"  and  I  have  lost  my  chance. 
The  working  thread  which  is  manageable 
as  the  Lord  presents  it,  becomes  knotted 


Now.  73 

and  twisted  with  a  dozen  more,  by  our 
neglect. 

Do  you  see  why  we  are  to  be  "instant"  — 
on  the  alert  —  "  in  season,  out  of  season  "  ? 
wide  awake  to  seize  each  swift-winged  mo- 
ment, "  buying  up  opportunities."  Eager  to 
do  now  the  Lord's  bidding,  because  when 
by-and-by  arrives,  he  will  tell  us  something 
else.  And  remember,  it  is  only  now  that 
anything  can  be  done.  We  regret  yester- 
day, we  plan  for  to-morrow,  but  we  must 
act  to-day.  And  if  ever  a  missed  oppor- 
tunity should  again  present  itself,  it  will 
still  be  in  the  guise  of  an  inexorable  "  now." 
"  Turn  ye  now  "  (Jer.  xxv.  5).  u  Prove  me 
now"  (Mai.  iii.  10).  While  to  those  who 
slighted  their  opportunity,  failed  to  use  it, 
the  Lord  soon  added  :  "  Sleep  on  now,  and 
take  your  rest "  (Matt.  xxvi.  45). 

O  loss,  never  to  be  forgotten  nor  made 
up.     They  might  have  watched  with  Christ 


74  Now. 

one  hour,  and  they  did  not!  —  No  wonder 
they  were  ready  to  forsake  him  and  flee 
when  the  test  came :  a  neglected  privilege 
is  a  long  step  towards  a  committed  sin. 

Neither  is  there  any  enemy  in  front  like 
a  forsaken  duty  in  the  rear.  Israel  refused 
their  first  chance  against  Amalek  ;  and 
then  rushing  up,  out  of  time,  found  that 
the  Lord  was  not  before  them,  and  were 
miserably  discomfited.  But  the  people  who 
obey  exactly,  and  obey  at  once,  are  "  strong 
and  very  courageous  ; "  and  they  only  "  re- 
deem the  time."  For  prompt  obedience 
leaves  no  margin  of  waste.  Not  only  you 
have  the  right  moment  in  which  to  do  (and 
everything  is  easier  done  then)  but  no  time 
is  lost  in  after  regrets,  and  sorrowful  tears, 
and  prayers  for  forgiveness  over  slack- 
handed  delays.  The  eunuch  was  well  on 
the  road  before  Philip  got  his  orders  ;  and 
Philip  had  to  run  to  catch  him  ;  and  yet 


Now.  75 

the  man  was  questioned,  answered,  con- 
verted, baptized,  and  Philip  away  again,  be- 
fore some  of  us  would  have  decided  whether 
the  Lord  had  not  better  send  another  man 
to  do  the  work.  Andrew  went  for  his 
brother  the  minute  he  thought  of  it ;  the 
other  Philip  drew  Nathanael  along  as  soon 
as  he  found  him.  The  four  men  bring  the 
palsied  one  between  them,  break  up  the 
roof,  let  him  down,  —  and  forthwith  he 
walks  away  on  his  own  feet,  "  carrying  that 
whereon  he  lay;"  and  the  four  go  off  light- 
hearted  and  with  hands  ready  for  other 
work.  Cornelius,  bid  to  send  for  Peter, 
sent  "  immediately  ; "  and  "  without  gain- 
saying," "as  soon  as  he  was  sent  for,"  Peter 
came.  "  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  that 
do  : "  both  so,  and  now. 

To  men  in  that  temper  difficulties  sink 
down  into  the  common  dust  of  the  high- 
way :  the  roof,  the  distance,  the  unlikeli- 


j6  Noiv. 

hood,  go  for  nothing.  For  our  humility  is 
too  often  sloth,  and  our  prudence  but  just 
"  the  fear  of  man."  "  He  that  observeth 
the  wind  shall  not  sow ;  and  he  that  re- 
gardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap  "  (Eccl. 
xi.  4). 

Remember  how  Moses  displeased  the 
Lord,  by  maintaining  that  he  was  not  "elo- 
quent,"—  not  fitted  for  the  work  which  the 
Lord  gave  him  to  do.  Remember  the 
"  What  doest  thou  here  ? "  to  Elijah,  when 
he  had  fled  away  in  despair  from  a  false 
church  and  a  persecuting  world.  What 
more  could  he  do,  among  such  a  people  ? 
and  yet : 

"What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah?"  (i 
Kings  xix.  9.) 

Think  of  the  time  Jonah  wasted,  because 
he  shrank  from  declaring  to  rich  Nineveh 
"  the  whole  counsel  of  God."  He  was  sent 
with  a  message,  and  he  would  not  deliver  it. 


Now.  yj 

It  took  months  of  experiences  to  bring  him 
to  his  duty  ;  and  then  he  had  to  take  up  the 
thing  just  where  he  had  laid  it  down. 

Then  think  of  the  lost  days  to  Balaam, 
when  having  been  told  what  to  do  (or 
rather  what  not  to  do)  he  set  himself  to 
get  the  orders  reversed.  Alas,  it  was  more 
than  lost  time  with  him :  it  ended  in  lost 
eternity. 

He  had  his  reward. 

"I  will  promote  thee  to  great  honour," 
said  Balak :  and  Balaam  forgot  that  "  Shame 
shall  be   the   promotion   of   fools"  (Prov. 

iii.  35). 

He  tried  to  serve  two  masters,  and  pleased 

neither;  sending  away  the  first  messengers 
when  the  Lord  said,  "  Thou  shalt  not  go." 
But  when  the  second  came,  with  bigger 
offers,  he  asked  again  ;  and  this  time  the 
Lord  let  him  have  his  way.  He  got  fright- 
ened sometimes  as  he  jogged  along;  saying, 


78  Now. 

"  Now  therefore  if  it  displease  thee,  I  will 
get  me  back  again  : "  but  still  he  went 
on  ;  going  sideways,  and  looking  over  his 
shoulder,  yet  holding  on  his  "perverse  way." 
With  that  strange  fear  which  is  not  repent- 
ance, thinking  something  was  after  him,  but 
failing  even  to  imagine  the  drawn  sword 
which  glittered  on  ahead,  until  "  the  dumb 
ass  reproved  the  prophet." 

O  what  miserable  temporizing  and  hag- 
gling we  have  over  our  orders  sometimes  ! 
teasing  until  we  get  our  "  head,"  and  then 
creeping  along  with  a  smiting  "  If  it  dis- 
please thee."  And  O  what  loss  of  time, 
strength,  and  comfort  it  entails  ! 

"What  thing  soever  I  command  you,  ob- 
serve to  do  it:  thou  shalt  not  add  thereto, 
nor  diminish  from  it"  (Deut.  xii.  32). 

More  than  that : 

"  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily  "  (Col. 
iii.  23). 


Now.  79 

But  "heartiness"  and  hurry,  like  knowl- 
edge and  wisdom,  have  "ofttimes  no  con- 
nection." In  fact  the  very  want  of  hearti- 
ness brings  hurry. 

"  He  also  that  is  slothful  in  his  work, 
is  brother  to  him  that  is  a  great  waster" 
(Prov.  xviii.  9). 

If  the  thing  is  hard,  take  hold  at  once ; 
if  there  are  difficulties,  meet  them  now : 
letting  the  proper  work  of  each  minute  fall 
into  place  as  surely  and  sweetly  as  the  min- 
ute itself  ticks  off.  You  can  often  do  it 
and  have  done  with  it,  while  you  are  wish- 
ing you  could  do  something  else.  I  said 
work,  — .  I  should  have  said  duty.  For  the 
required  business  of  the  hour  may  be  sleep 
or  rest  instead  of  action  ;  and  must  as  little 
be  slighted.  Do  that  also  with  your  might; 
and  no  more  spoil  your  rest  with  work, 
than  your  work  with  idleness.  Even  the 
nerveless  iron  locomotive  needs  intervals 


8o  Now. 

of  "cooling  off:"  the  same  engine  does 
not  take  you  from  New  York  to  Albany, 
but  is  switched  off  at  Poughkeepsie  for  its 
turn  of  quiet.  Time  better  spent  so,  than 
in  costly  repairs.  The  seasons  of  proper 
rest,  of  helpful  study  ("that  the  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  all  good  works")  are  but  the  whetting 
of  the  sickle,  the  feathering  of  the  arrow, 
for  better  and  swifter  work.  How  often  are 
we  laid  by  with  a  day's  illness,  just  because 
in  our  self-willed  zeal  we  have  refused  to 
take  an  hour  of  rest.  Lay  down  your  bur- 
den at  the  Lord's  feet,  O  tired  worker,  and 
trust  it  there,  until  you  are  fit  to  take  it  up 
again.  Can  the  great  enemy  of  souls  steal 
even  one,  from  under  His  watching  ? 

"There  is  that  neither  day  nor  night 
seeth  sleep  with  his  eyelids  "  (Eccle.  viii.  16). 

Cannot  yours  close  at  the  proper  time, 
leaving  all  to  his  almighty  care  ? 


Now.  8  r 

Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  O  women, 
toiling  on  into  the  night  that  the  children's 
dresses  may  be  finished.  "  Where  is  your 
faith  ? "  Is  it  service  to  stitch  your  eyes 
out,  and  your  brain  into  a  whirl  ?  Even  in 
great  things,  the  Lord  himself  put  "to  do 
the  will  of  God,"  before  "  to  finish  his  work." 
Yet  people  hurry  along,  bending  under  a 
dull  weight  of  oppression,  which  they  would 
not  dare  charge  upon  God,  nor  quite  like — 
in  heathen  fashion  —  to  lay  upon  fate;  but 
least  of  all  do  they  own  it  is  Pharaoh. 
Have  the  children  really  no  clothes  ?  Yes, 
but  not  so  fine  as  their  neighbours'.  Must 
you  go  to  this  meeting,  half  sick  as  you  are  ? 
"No — but —  Well,  I  do  not  want  some- 
body else  in  my  chair."  —  Ever  so  much 
of  our  over  work  is  really  self-indulgence. 
Are  we  bound  to  wear  just  such  a  dress, 
give  just  such  a  dinner,  make  just  (or  at 
least)  so  much  money  ?  No,  by  no  right- 
6 


82  Now. 

eous  law,  human  or  divine.  It  is  Pharaoh's 
taskmasters,  as  I  said.  Try  close,  instant 
obedience  to  the  Lord's  hourly  guiding,  and 
see  how  the  friction  will  die  out,  the  con- 
fusion clear  away.  Perhaps  you  may  not 
then  find  time  to  tie  up  the  door-knobs  in 
white  muslin  bags,  —  possibly  a  bargain 
may  now  and  then  escape  you  :  but 

"  Better  is  an  handful  with  quietness,  than 
both  the  hands  full  with  travail  and  vexation 
of  spirit"  (Eccle.  iv.  6). 

All  the  clear  health  of  mind  and  body  you 
can  gather  will  not  be  too  much,  if  you  are 
to  live  like  the  woman  of  Proverbs  xxxi. 
10-31,  the  man  of  2  Tim.  vi.  1 1— 1 5.  Steady 
nerves  and  a  calm  brain  are  great  backers 
of  faith,  in  this  world  where  the  height  of 
success  is  to  be, 

"  Troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  dis- 
tressed ;  perplexed,  but  not  in  despair " 
(2  Co.  iv.  8). 


Now.  83 

Truly,  such  a  one  is  "a  wonder  unto 
many." 

"  His  branches  shall  spread,  and  his 
beauty  shall  be  as  the  olive  tree,  and  his 
smell  as  Lebanon  "  (Hos.  xiv.  6). 


ALL  THINGS  FULL  OF  LABOUR. 


I  TALK  of  rest,  I  say  you  may  be  quit  of 
confusion  ;  but  let  not  any  one  picture 
to  himself  a  life  with  little  to  do,  or  even 
fancy  that  such  a  life  would  be  pleasant. 
I  suppose  the  busiest  of  us  but  faintly 
realize  the  things  which  might  be  done. 
The  work  lies  all  about  you,  even  if  you 
never  take  it  up  ;  but  if  you  do  not,  your 
own  personal  loss  is  very  great.  You  can- 
not make  time  so  :  you  only  kill  it,  lose  it, 
throw  it  away. 

"  Occupy  till  I  come,"  said  our  Master,  — 
and  that  word  searches  out  every  corner  of 
possibility:  each  hour  is  lent  to  see  "how 
much  every  man  will  gain  by  trading  ;  "  not 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  85 

for  himself,  but  for  the  great  Owner  of  it 
all.  What  the  Lord  Jesus  would  have  done 
we  are  to  do,  where  he  would  have  gone  we 
are  to  go.  And  all  with  the  prompt,  joyful 
alacrity  which  marks  those  servants  who 
not  only  "wait  for  their  Lord,"  but  also 
"  love  his  appearing."  While  "  a  little  more 
sleep,  a  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more 
folding  of  the  hands  together,"  as  surely 
tells  that  the  servant  saith  in  his  heart: 
"  My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming." 

"  Full  of  labour,"  —  but  if  you  take  it  right, 
this  "occupy"  is  also  full  of  the  richest, 
sweetest  pleasure.  The  marginal  reading 
of  Eccle.  i.  5  :  "  The  sun  panteth  to  his  place 
whence  he  arose:"  just  describes,  I  think, 
the  true  wholesome  state  of  a  wholesomely 
living  soul.  That  eager,  glad,  strained  (but 
not  0z'^strained)  endeavour  after  right  ends  ; 
never  ceasing,  never  hurried  :  "  rejoicing  as 
a  strong  man  to  run  a  race." 


86  All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

"  Shine  like  the  sun  in  every  corner," 
said  George  Herbert  :  the  human  transla- 
tion of  "Occupy  till  I  come"  (Lu.  xix.  13). 

But  this  joy  in  the  thought  of  to-morrow's 
work,  presupposes  the  work  of  to-day  well 
done.  If  that  has  been  left  at  loose  ends,  to 
be  afterwards  painfully  caught  up  and  knit 
together,  we  reach  "  the  place  whence  we 
arose,"  panting  after  a  very  different  sort : 
breathless,  and  tired  ;  for  it  makes  all  the 
odds  in  the  world  whether  you  pursue  your 
business,  or  your  business  you.  A  pretty 
day  the  old  clock  would  have  had  of  it,  if 
after  idling  over  his  work  three  quarters  of 
an  hour,  he  had  tried  to  chink  in  all  the 
neglected  ticks  !  Look  at  the  indicators  on 
the  face  of  a  day-and-month  telling  clock, 
and  see  how  softly  and  irreversibly  June 
changes  to  July,  and  the  1  into  the  2.  The 
time  —  the  proper  time  —  for  one  thing  is 
gone,  the  time  for  another  is  come  ;  and 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  8? 

there  is  not  room  for  both.  An  impene- 
trability in  things  immaterial,  as  in  the 
material,  confronts  us  on  every  hand. 

"  To  everything  there  is  a  season,  and  a 
time  for  every  purpose  under  the  heaven" 
(Eccle.  iii.  i). 

"  A  time  to  kill,  and  a  time  to  heal ;  a 
time  to  break  down,  and  a  time  to  build 
up." 

"  A  time  to  rend,  and  a  time  to  sew  ;  a 
time  to  keep  silence,  and  a  time  to  speak  " 
(Eccle.  i.  3,  7). 

Neither  is  there  in  action  any  more  than 
in  opinion  a  convenient  middle  ground 
which  either  side  may  use  at  will. 

"  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me : 
and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me  scat- 
tereth  "  (Lu.  xi.  23). 

Whatever  is  not  ^ain,  is  loss.  We  com- 
fort  ourselves  over  to-day's  neglect,  with, 
O   I  can  do  it  to-morrow  :  forgetting  that 


88  All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

to-morrow  also  will  have  its  own  appointed 
duties,  and  not  one  minute  to  spare  for  the 
waste  of  to-day.  And  thus  begins  a  sys- 
tem of  borrowing  time,  at  ruinous  rates  of 
interest. 

It  stands  to  reason  then  that  no  time 
must  be  squandered.  In  this  as  in  every- 
thing throughout  the  natural  world,  the 
rule  is  absolute  fulness,  as  close  pressed 
as  consists  with  absolute  perfection :  not 
a  blade  of  grass  too  many,  not  a  quarter 
inch  too  much.  And  so  for  us  and  our 
occasions  there  are  minutes  enough,  but 
not  one  to  throw  away.  Then  of  course 
it  follows  that  each  minute  has  its  own 
appointed  morsel  of  work  ;  and  every  min- 
ute that  flits  by  unloaded,  flings  its  proper 
burden  on  the  rest.  This  is  one  great  way 
in  which  we  get  in  a  hurry  and  keep  in 
a  hurry ;  letting  our  work  roll  up  like  a 
snowball,   until   the    separate    light   flakes 


All  Tilings  full  of  Labour.  89 

become  a  mass  too  heavy  to  lift  ;  and  flesh 
and  heart  too,  break  down  in  the  attempt. 
But  when  all  is  said,  the  work  remains : 
work  ever  increasing,  never  done.  When 
we  clear  a  lookout  to  the  river  among  our 
cedars,  for  a  little  the  open  space  rejoices 
our  eyes  ;  and  then  directly,  as  if  they  had 
been  waiting  their  chance,  the  trees  on 
either  side  stretch  out  their  branches,  and 
close  it  in.  You  go  to  see  one  poor  person, 
and  you  find  three  ;  you  sit  down  to  mend 
one  rent,  and  behold  there  are  two.  We 
wanted  to  give  comfort  and  rest  one  sum- 
mer to  some  city-fagged  student  with  no 
hotel  bills  in  his  power  ;  and  almost  before 
we  knew  we  had  spoken  our  wish,  six  such 
students  were  offered  us.  All  apparently 
waiting  for  just  our  one  poor  little  room. 
It  made  us  feel  sore-hearted. 

"  All  things  are  full  of  labour  ;  man  can- 
not utter  it"  (Eccle.  i.  8). 


go  All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

There  is  simply  no  end  to  the  things  to 
be  done.  Thorns  and  thistles  grow  here, 
and  fields  white  for  harvest  stand  there ; 
and  the  sweat  of  the  face  is  the  daily  ex- 
perience. And  Solomon  goes  on  to  state 
what  to  some  of  us  is  the  hardest  part  of 
all :  the  wearisome  sameness  that  comes  in. 
If  only  some  thistles  could  be  yellow  !  — 
if  only  some  thorns  wore  their  prickles  at 
the  tips  of  the  branches !  if  only  the  nettles 
would  sting  with  a  little  change  of  sensation  ! 
Even  a  blue  caterpillar  would  be  a  relief, 
and  a  green  wire- worm  rouse  some  faint 
sensation.     But  no  : 

"The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that 
which  shall  be  ;  and  that  which  is  done,  is 
that  which  shall  be  done:  and  there  is  no 
new  thing  under  the  sun  "  (Eccle.  i.  9). 

The  same  faults,  the  same  needs,  start  up 
day  in,  day  out ;  and  from  the  time  men  first 
put  on  stockings,  the  holes  have  come  in 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  91 

the  same  places.  Even  the  pleasure  seekers 
find  it  true,  who  spend  their  time  in  search- 
ing for  novelty.  Life  seems  to  take  a  cer- 
tain area,  within  which  the  years  swing  back 
and  forth,  pendulum  fashion,  and  never  go 
beyond.  It  is  one  round  of  cooking,  sweep- 
ing, and  mending,  —  or  on  the  other  hand, 
of  ordering  dinners  and  guiding  the  house, 
—  or  of  dressing,  visiting,  driving  to  the 
Park,  and  coming  home.  Either  way  it  is 
just  a  round. 

"  Is  there  anything  whereof  it  may  be 
said,  See,  this  is  new?"  (Eccle.  i.  10.) 

The  same  sins  to  fight,  the  same  sorrows 
to  comfort,  the  same  places  to  go  to,  the 
same  people  to  see.  Men  get  a  little  variety 
out  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks,  the  mak- 
ing and  losing  of  money ;  the  President 
going  in,  and  the  President  going  out. 
But  even  that,  for  the  most  part,  subsides 
into  an  average :  it  is  but  up  and  down, 


92  All  Tilings  full  of  Labour. 

four  years  and  four  years,  when  all  is  said. 
There  is  little  variety  (or  at  least  much 
sameness)  even  for  men.  They  hail  the 
same  omnibus,  catch  the  same  train  every 
morning,  nod  to  the  same  people  on  the 
way,  and  come  back  to  the  same  dinner 
hour  every  night.  Say  about  the  same 
thing  to  their  wives  at  dinner,  smoke  the 
same  cigars,  rustle  the  same  newspapers, 
stroll  out  for  a  half-hour  in  the  same 
streets,  or  drop  in  on  the  same  cronies,  to 
discuss  the  same  subjects.  A  bit  of  gos- 
sip —  a  business  report  —  the  bulletin  of  the 
weather,  —  nothing  of  much  more  refresh- 
ing power  than  the  entries  in  the  old 
journal  in  the  Spectator:  <(  Mem :  Grand 
Vizier  certainly  hanged." 

The  elevated  road  made  a  small  sensa- 
tion for  a  while,  and  so  will  the  balloon 
express,  —  but  it  will  not  last.  Solomon 
called  it  a  "  sore  travail  "  this  machinery, 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  93 

working  with  an  endless  band  ;  and  looked 
at  so,  it  is. 

"  What  profit  hath  a  man  of  all  his  labour 
which  he  taketh  under  the  sun  ? "  (Eccle.  i.  3). 

"  Generation  passeth  away,  and  genera- 
tion cometh,"  —  "  the  sun  ariseth,  and  the 
sun  goeth  down  ;  —  the  wind  goeth  toward 
the  south,  and  turneth  about  unto  the 
north,"  —  "  all  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea," 
—  and  after  all,  "  the  sea  is  not  full." 

"  All  the  labour  of  man  is  for  his  mouth, 
and  yet  the  appetite  is  not  filled"  (Eccle. 
vi.  7). 

"  The  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing, 
nor  the  ear  with  hearing  "  (Eccle.  i.  8). 

When  we  have  seen  this  thing,  let  us 
hunt  up  something  else ;  when  we  have 
this,  let  us  get  the  other.  When  our  barns 
are  full  (note  well  the  word)  let  us  pull 
them  down  and  build  bigger.  A  restless 
sameness  fills  all  the  world  ;  and  there  is 


94  All  Things  full  of  Laborer. 

no  hope,  according  to  Solomon,  that  this 
state  of  things  can  ever  be  mended.  It 
was  all  "  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,"  to 
his  sagacious  mind.  And  even  in  the 
great  facts  of  life  and  death  he  found  the 
same  monotony. 

"All  things  come  alike  to  all"  (Eccle. 
ix.  2). 

"  As  it  happeneth  to  the  fool,  so  it  hap- 
peneth  even  to  me"  (Eccle.  ii.  15). 

The  strange,  humbling  oneness  of  human- 
ity crept  under  the  royal  robes,  climbed  up 
the  ivory  throne. 

"  Yea,  though  he  live  a  thousand  years 
twice  told,  yet  hath  he  seen  no  good  :  do 
not  all  go  to  one  place  ?  "  (Eccle.  vi.  6.) 

"The  house  appointed  for  all  living" 
(Job  xxx.  23). 

And  from  "dust  to  dust,"  walled  in  the 
longest  life.  Even  so,  Solomon  could  not 
get  rid  of  them  and  their  monotony. 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  95 

"  There  is  no  end  of  all  the  people " 
( Eccle.  iv.  16). 

"That  which  hath  been  is  now,  and  that 
which  is  to  be  hath  already  been  "  (Eccle. 
iii.  15). 

"  An  end  of  all  perfection  "  David  had 
found,  and  easily ;  but  when  Solomon 
sought  for  the  end  of  ///^perfection  —  alas, 
it  lay  hid  beneath  the  receding  pointers 
of  the  rainbow  !  It  was  a  melancholy  view 
enough. 

"  Is  there  taste  in  the  white  of  an  egg  ? " 
(Job  vi.  6.) 

And  things  are  nearly  as  bad  in  our  own 
day.  The  monotony  of  labour  in  time-worn 
channels,  weighs  down  the  race.  The  tree 
of  life,  bearing  "  twelve  manner  of  fruits," 
groweth  not  hereaway.     Now  as  then, 

"  That  which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made 
straight,  and  that  which  is  wanting  cannot 
be  numbered"  (Eccle.  i.  15). 


g6  All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

And  if  even  Solomon  thought  "  of  mak- 
ing many  books  there  is  no  end,"  and  found 
"  much  study  "  a  weariness,  what  would  he 
have  said  in  our  time  ? 

"  There  is  no  end  of  all  his  labour ; 
neither  is  his  eye  satisfied  with  riches  " 
(Eccle.  iv.  8). 

"  He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be  satis- 
fied with  silver ;  nor  he  that  loveth  abun- 
dance with  increase"  (Eccle.  v.  10). 

Universal  discontent  follows  on  the  heels 
of  the  universal  hurry ;  and  sameness  and 
weariness  go  hand  in  hand.  And  which 
of  us  cannot  smile  and  sigh  too  over  that 
clause  about  the  rivers,  which  sets  forth  in 
finer  language  what  we  say  so  often  and  so 
despairingly  :  "  I  never  get  through  !  "  All 
the  ceaseless  work  of  the  day,  the  week,  the 
year,  has  been  poured  into  that  ocean  of 
demand,  — "  yet  the  sea  is  not  full."  There 
will  be  just  as  much  call  to-morrow  as  there 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  97 

is  to-day.  From  work  basket  to  mission 
school,  the  work  grows  —  not  diminishes; 
and  of  necessity,  for  the  most  partialis  into 
a  gray  routine. 

Like  the  foam  streaks  on  the  river,  which 
sometimes  for  hours  together  show  little 
change  of  outline  ;  though  wave  after  wave 
rolls  under  them,  and  rolls  away.  Some 
one  has  acutely  denned  "  work "  to  be  : 
"doing  the  same  thing  over /"  and  we  all 
know  how  many  a  labour  seems  like  play, 
while  it  is  new  ;  and  many  another  presses 
hard,  just  because  it  is  old.  The  shoulder 
is  tired  in  just  that  place,  the  head  is  weary 
of  just  that  thought.  Even  in  play  it  is 
true.  I  knew  a  woman  once  into  whose 
young  soul  the  monotony  of  life  had  pressed 
so  deep,  that  she  every  now  and  then,  at 
church,  went  up  the  aisle  that  was  furthest 
from  her  pew,  " for  a  change  !  "  "I  do  wish 
worsted  dresses  would  come  in  fashion," 
7 


qS  All  Tilings  full  of  Labour. 

she  said  to  me  one  day.  "  I  am  so  tired  of 
wearing  silk !  " 

We  workers  are  better  off  than  that, 
though  we  too  feel  the  sameness  ;  but 
there  is  some  help  in  remembering  that 
it  must  be  so. 

"  While  the  earth  remaineth,  seedtime 
and  harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer 
and  winter,  and  day  and  night,  shall  not 
cease  "  (Gen.  viii.  22). 

In  all  the  great  features,  one  year  will 
be  like  another,  while  the  world  stands. 
Neither  will  to-day  ever  be  able  to  do  yes- 
terday's work,  or  to-morrow's  work ;  and 
when  we  try  that,  or  expect  that,  we  easily 
grow  discouraged,  and  make  labour  in- 
deed a  curse.  But  to-day  will  always  be 
full. 

Once  a  year  the  old  Israelites  were  to  eat 
the  Passover,  staff  in  hand  and  shoes  on 
feet ;  but  to  us  is  given  the  hourly  rule : 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.  99 

"Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and 
your  lamps  burning"  (Lu.  xii.  35). 

For  even  after  a  hard  day's  work  the 
call  may  sound  : 

"  Gird  thyself,  and  come  forth  and  serve 
me"  (Lu.  xvii.  9). 

The  minute-men  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission even  slept  in  full  preparedness  for 
action,  ready  at  any  moment  to  spring  up 
and  go.  And  there  may  suddenly  rage 
a  battle  within  your  hearing,  there  may 
come  wounded  within  your  reach.  You 
have  already  perhaps  done  much,  but  now 
do  more:  no  putting  off  of  armour  while 
the  war  holds  on.  By  and  by,  when  the 
long  life-day  has  sunk  to  rest,  it  shall  be 
said  : 

"  Go  and  sit  down  to  meat." 

"Blessed  are  those  servants  whom  the 
Lord  when  he  cometh  shall  find  watching : 
verily   I  say  unto  you,  that  he  shall  gird 


ioo        All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

himself,  and  make  them  to  sit  down  to  meat, 
and  will  come  forth  and  serve  them  "  (Lu. 
xii.  37). 

"  The  time  came  that  the  saints  pos- 
sessed the  kingdom  "  (Dan.  vii.  12). 

Then,  when  there  shall  be  no  more  "wars, 
nor  rumours  of  wars:"  then,  when  there  shall 
be  "  time  no  longer ; "  this  ever  coming, 
ever  going,  succession  of  hours  and  days  and 
months  and  years,  where  before  we  can 
name  the  present  it  is  already  past.  No 
more  escaping  opportunities,  and  possibili- 
ties that  start  up  and  fly :  no  more  lives 
that  sink  down  "  as  a  shadow  that  declin- 
ed." 

"  No  rude  alarms  of  raging  foes  ; 
No  cares  to  break  the  long  repose  ; 
No  midnight  shade,  no  clouded  sun, 
But  sacred,  high,  eternal  noon." 

No  need  then  to  say  one  to  another : 
"Know  the  Lord;  for  all  shall  know  him, 


All  Things  full  of  Labour.         101 

from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of 
them"  (Jer.  xxxi.  34). 

No  need  to  "  resist  the  devil,"  for  he 
shall  be  "  chained  : "  no  call  for  hard-won 
victories  over  the  world,  —  for  "the  world, 
and  the  lust  thereof,"  shall  have  "passed 
away." 

"  There  remaineth  a  rest  (Heb.  iv.  9). 

But  now, 

"  It  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep  " 
(Ro.  xiii.  11). 

Now,  "  do  thy  diligence  in  every  way." 

"  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  to  the 
doctrine"  (1.  Ti.  iv.  16). 

"  O  Jerusalem,  that  briugest  good  tid- 
ings, lift  up  thy  voice  with  strength  :  lift 
it  up,  be  not  afraid  "   (Is.  xli.  9). 

"  Reprove,  rebuke,  exhort "  (2  Ti.  iv.  2). 

"  Make  straight  in  the  desert  an  highway 
for  our  God  "  (Is.  xl.  3). 

And  first  of  all,  and  for  the  sake  of  all, 


102        All  Things  full  of  Labour. 

"  That  good  thing  which  was  committed 
unto  thee,  keep"  (2  Ti.  i.  14). 

"  Hold  fast  that  which  thou  hast,  that 
no  man  take  thy  crown"  (Rev.  hi.  11). 

"  The  people  that  know  their  God  shall 
be  strong,  and  do  exploits  "  (Dan.  xi.  32). 


ARE  ALL  APOSTLES? 


LOOKING  at  the  immensity  of  the 
work,  realizing  in  some  faint  way  the 
glory  of  it,  one  often  wishes  heartily  that 
one  could  do  more  :  which  is  a  very  wise 
and  right  desire,  and  well  open  to  fulfilment 
But  what  is  neither  wise,  right,  nor  practi- 
cal, is  to  wish  to  do  everything  you  see 
others  do,  and  exactly  as  they  do  it.  They 
have  their  work,  you  have  yours :  and  if 
you  try  to  measure  the  respective  size  and 
importance  of  the  two,  you  will  probably 
blunder  straight  along,  and  get  thoroughly 
discouraged. 

The  Bible  lays  great  stress  upon  "  edify- 
ing "  —  building  up.     "  Edify  one  another," 


1 04  A  re  A 11  Apostles  ? 

edify  the  church,  —  but  nobody  ever  yet  saw 
a  building  on  which  everyone  did  precisely 
the  same  sort  of  work.  It  is  all  to  the  same 
true  end  :  and  so,  steadily,  surely,  the  wall 
rises,  the  windows  look  out,  the  beams  fit 
in.  And  when  things  are  right  —  in  one 
small  church,  or  the  great  Church  univer- 
sal—  the  work  goes  on  after  this  grand  old 
pattern. 

"  They  helped  every  one  his  neighbour ; 
and  every  one  said  to  his  brother,  Be  of  good 
courage.  So  the  carpenter  encouraged  the 
goldsmith,  and  he  that  smootheth  with  the 
hammer  him  that  smote  the  anvil,  saying, 
It  is  ready  for  the  sodering;  and  he  fas- 
tened it  with  nails,  that  it  should  not  be 
moved"  (Is.  xli.  6,  7). 

It  is  a  heathen  example,  but  very  ad- 
mirable. Each  one  found  he  had  plenty 
to  do,  and  yet  could  admire  and  cheer  on 
the  work  of  the  rest :  each  saw  the  great 


Are  All  Apostles?  105 

importance  of  other  men's  doing  what  he 
could  not.  The  very  New  Testament  idea, 
also,  you  see. 

"  For  the  body  is  not  one  member,  but 
many." 

"  And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand, 
I  have  no  need  of  thee :  nor  again  the 
head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you " 
(1  Co.  xii.  14,  21). 

I  suppose  that  mistake  is  sometimes  made. 
But  there  is  another,  I  fancy,  much  more 
common  among  us.  For  we  who  are  only 
hands  and  feet,  do  often  disparage  our 
work ;  looking  up  to  the  wise  head,  the 
bright  eye,  and  feeling  our  own  place  in 
life  to  be  dull  and  insignificant.  Yet  it 
is  not  so. 

"  If  the  whole  body  were  an  eye,  where 
were  the  hearing  ?  "  (1  Co.  xii.  17). 

Your  idea  would  barter  away  the  full- 
grown,  well-developed  figure  of  a  man,  for 


io6  Arc  All  Apostles  ? 

the  conventional  cherub  —  all  head  and 
wings. 

Change  the  image,  and  you  will  see  this 
more  clearly.  Every  single  stone  in  the  wall, 
—  dim  it  may  be,  and  inconspicuous,  but 
fitted  to  its  place  and  filling  it  well,  —  is  as 
truly  important  to  the  great  edifice,  as  the 
carved  coping  at  which  all  men  look.  Set 
you  up  on  a  high  enough  pole,  you  think, 
and  you  could  be  an  electric  light  with  any- 
body :  and  maybe  you  could.     And  yet : 

"  Those  members  of  the  body  which  seem 
to  be  more  feeble,  are  necessary  (i  Co. 
xii.  22). 

I  am  beginning  to  have  a  tender  liking 
for  the  despised  old  lamps,  now  banished 
to  the  humblest  highways,  and  doing  their 
brightest  at  the  muddiest  corners.  Enough 
of  them  would  light  the  city,  with  a  more 
human  glow,  and  no  deadly  wires  in  con- 
nection. 


Are  All  Apostles?  107 


"  Oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so  called  " 
(r  Ti.  vi.  20). 

"Thou  hast  corrupted  thy  wisdom  by 
reason  of  thy  brightness"  (Ez.  xxviii.  17). 

So  the  words  come  to  me :  Our  mental 
Broadway  is  rather  a  lurid  place  just  now. 

Never  be  dissatisfied  with  what  you  have 
to  do. 

"  Now  hath  God  set  the  members  every 
one  of  them  in  the  body,  as  it  hath  pleased 
him"  (1  Co.  xii.  18). 

Your  place  in  life,  your  work,  your  cir- 
cumstances (unless  your  own  wilful  misdo- 
ing has  spoiled  them  all)  are  just  the  Lord's 
wise,  loving  plan,  marked  out  lor  you.  When 
you  complain  of  them,  your  complaint  is 
against  him.  I  think  restlessness  would 
well  nigh  die  out  of  the  world,  if  men  but 
laid  this  to  heart. 

But  you  would  like  to  do  something 
that  counts,  —  everything  counts.    Men  are 


108  Are  All  Apostles  ? 

saved  —  as  stones  are  laid  —  one  by  one. 
You  may  at  least  come  out  like  that  delight- 
ful little  boy  who  having  but  one  cent  to 
put  in  the  plate,  was  desperately  afraid  it 
was  too  small  to  be  counted.  Imagine  then 
his  joy,  when  the  minister  read  out: 

"  Our  collection  to-day  amounts  to  fifty 
dollars  —  and  one  cent !  " 

It  will  be  something,  to  have  swelled  the 
countless  multitude  by  even  one:  to  hear  — 

"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  —  " 

If  a  pulpit  is  denied  you,  cannot  you 
preach  in  the  street  ?  if  you  may  not  reform 
a  neighbourhood,  can  you  not  teach  at  home  ? 
Not  arithmetic,  or  even  Latin  and  Greek, 
but  "the  weightier  matters  of  the  law:  judg- 
ment, mercy,  and  faith."  "  Ye  are  the  salt 
of  the  earth,"  —  do  all  who  come  near  you 
feel  the  wholesome,  purifying  stimulation  ? 
"  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,"  —  do  your 


Are  All  Apostles  ?  109 

own  households  see  their  way  the  clearer 
for  that  glad  shining  ?  One  might  take  up 
the  thought  of  "  Your  Mission,"  and  carry  it 
on  almost  indefinitely,  setting  the  so-called 
little  over  against  the  so-called  great. 

If  you  cannot  be  a  leader 

In  the  crowd  that  pours  along ; 

Raise  the  fallen,  lying  prostrate 

Under  foot  amid  the  throng. 

If  you  cannot  fire  the  nation,  — 

If  you  cannot  stir  the  race,  — 

Lay  cool  hands  on  aching  foreheads, 

Give  sad  hearts  a  resting-place. 

If  you  cannot  reach  the  strangers, 

Gather  in  the  men  you  know  ; 

Teach  your  friend  the  way  to  glory,  — 

Draw  your  comrades  where  you  go. 

Though  your  work  be  never  mentioned, 

Though  your  name  may  not  appear, 

Speak  one  word  for  "  Jesus  only," 

And  the  Lord  at  least  will  hear. 

It  is   one  of  the  prettiest  things  in  the 
world,  to  see  how  the  broken  walls  of  Jeru- 


no  Are  All  Apostles? 

salem  were  built  up  in  the  days  of  Nehemiah. 
And  note  first  the  absence  of  all  hurry,  not- 
withstanding the  need  of  haste.  The  wall 
of  Jerusalem  was  down,  her  gates  burned 
with  fire,  and  impassable  heaps  of  rubbish 
lay  on  every  hand.  The  case  was  urgent 
enough.  Yet  before  he  even  began  to  talk 
about  it,  Nehemiah  went  alone  at  night,  and 
studied  the  whole  thing  out  for  himself :  as 
a  young  minister  might  word  by  word  go 
over  the  text : 

"  The  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness  " 
(i  Jn.  v.  19). 

Then,  gathering  the  great  work  into  his 
arms,  as  it  were  ;  knowing  also  to  what  full- 
est extent  he  was  ready  to  pledge  himself : 
the  whole-hearted  Israelite  could  say  with 
strongest  persuasion  : 

"  Come,  and  let  us  build  up  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem"  (Neh,  ii.  17). 

Telling  then  the  wonderful  providences 


Are  All  Apostles  ?  in 

of  God  thus  far,  until  the  slow  hearts  of 
the  people  kindled. 

"  And  they  said,  Let  us  rise  up  and  build. 
So  they  strengthened  their  hands  for  this 
good  work"  (Neh.  ii.  18). 

Of  course  at  once  broke  out  a  storm  of 
laughter  and  scorn,  upon  the  "  remnant " 
that  planned  such  great  things.  Convert 
the  world  with  a  handful  of  missionaries  ? 
turn  men  from  their  wicked  courses  by 
your  weak  efforts  ? 

"  What  do  these  feeble  Jews  ?  will  they 
fortify  themselves  ?  will  they  sacrifice  ?  will 
they  make  an  end  in  a  day  ?  will  they  re- 
vive the-  stones  out  of  the  heaps  of  the 
rubbish  which  are  burned  ? 

"  Even  that  which  they  build,  if  a  fox  go 
up,  he  shall  even  break  down  their  stone 
wall"  (Neh.  iv.  2,  3). 

Like  the  questions  in  our  own  day :  Can 
you  ever  reclaim  a  drunkard  ?     Will  your 


ii2  Are  All  Apostles  ? 

heathen  converts  stand  ?  And  the  de- 
spised ones  gave  back  the  only  answer 
that  is  worth  a  straw. 

"  The  God  of  heaven,  he  will  prosper  us  ; 
therefore  we  his  servants  will  arise  and 
build  "  (Neh.  ii.  20). 

Then  how  they  laboured,  in  the  strength 
of  such  faith  and  purpose !  It  was  ideal 
church  work  ;  for  it  was, 

"As  every  man  hath  received  the  gift" 
(1  Peter  iv.  10). 

"  Every  man  according  to  his  several 
ability"  (Matt.  xxv.  15). 

You  can  see  differences :  all  had  not 
means  alike,  —  still  more,  all  did  not  la- 
bour alike  with  what  they  had ;  and  there 
was  different  work  to  do.  The  high  priest 
began  it :  he  and  his  brethren  the  priests 
taking  first  what  seemed  to  them  the  most 
important ;  even  that  " sheep  gate"  through 
which  the  sacrifices  were  brought.      They 


Arc  All  Apostles  ?  113 

builded  and  finished  it,  even  to  the  last  bit 
of  cleansing  and  consecration.  And  it  is 
pretty  to  see,  that  while  they  wrought  thus 
as  it  were  for  the  whole  congregation,  some 
of  the  congregation  quietly  wrought  for 
them.  Eliashib  the  high  priest  builded 
the  sheep  gate  ;  and  meanwhile  Meremoth 
the  son  of  Urijah  repaired  "from  the  door 
of  the  house  of  Eliashib  even  to  the  end 
of  the  house  of  Eliashib  ;"  evidently  think- 
ing that  after  his  specially  public  labours, 
the  high  priest  ought  to  rest. 

A  stretch  of  solid  building,  from  the 
foundations  up,  followed  the  "  sheep  gate  ;  " 
finished  bit  by  bit  by  one  and  another  in 
turn,  even  as  far  as  "  the  fish  gate  ;  "  which 
also  in  its  measure  was  well  and  thoroughly 
done,  until  beams  and  doors  and  locks  and 
bars  were  all  in  place.  Some  might  say, 
what  use  in  finis -Jung  any  part,  while  so 
much  was  not  even  begun  ?     What  need  of 


ii4  Arc  All  Apostles? 

bolts  and  bars  on  the  gate,  with  a  breach  in 
the  wall  ten  feet  away  ?  But  these  builders 
were  out-and-out  men,  and  would  have  their 
work  self-supporting  before  they  left  it. 

And  now  came  a  bit  of  repair,  —  and 
another,  —  and  another:  rubbish  to  clear 
away,  and  if  anything  good  was  left,  to 
adapt  it  and  build  it  in.  Repairing  seems 
like  comparatively  easy  work,  and  yet  per- 
haps it  needs  just  as  deep  devotion  and 
whole-souled  purpose.  For  when  it  came 
the  turn  of  the  Tekoites  to  repair, 

"Their  nobles  put  not  their  necks  to  the 
work  of  their  Lord  "  (Neh.  iii.  5). 

And  you  cannot  do  much  with  the  tips 
of  your  fingers.  "The  wise  woman  of 
Tekoah"  seems  to  have  had  some  foolish 
compatriots.  Nehemiah  records  it,  but  we 
do  not  read  that  anybody  stopped  to  com- 
ment :  they  were  all  too  eagerly  busy.  It  is 
refreshing  to  turn  to  those  heartier  souls, 


Are  All  Apostles?  115 

and  catch  even  at  this  far-off  distance  the 
clink  of  their  tools.  New  gates  rose  up, 
old  gates  were  put  to  rights;  and  "fortifica- 
tion "  strengthened  the  more  exposed  places 
of  the  built-up  wall.  Every  now  and  then, 
too,  there  is  a  noteworthy  bit  of  sideway 
description.  One  man  repairs  "  over  against 
Ids  house"  —  a  place  neglected  by  some 
builders.  Then  we  have  a  shew  of  women's 
hands  amid  the  universal  masculinity. 

"  Next  to  him  repaired  Shallum,  ...  he 
and  his  daughters"  (  Neh.  iii.  12). 

They  were  able  to  help  him  —  he  was 
willing  they  should.  Then  Baruch  "  ear- 
nestly repaired  another  piece."  It  may 
not  have  been  a  large  piece,  but  we  know 
it  was  good  work. 

"  With  good  will  doing  service,  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  to  men  "  (Eph.  vi.  7). 

And  one  —  was  he  an  invalid  ?  was  he 
a  poorest  man?  —  accomplished  but  this: 
he  "  repaired  over  against  his  chamber." 


1 1 6  Are  All  Apostles  ? 

"  She  hath  done  what  she  could  "  (Mark 
xiv.  8). 

Yet  even  this,  you  see,  would  by  and  by 
reach  round  the  world. 

So  the  work  went  on.  Sometimes  a 
rich  man  repaired  a  great  piece  ;  or  a  knot 
of  friends  and  neighbours  took  hold  together : 
"  the  ruler  of  part  of  Mizpah,"  "  the  men  of 
Jericho."  But  next  to  them  would  be  "  Uz- 
ziah  of  the  goldsmiths,"  or  "  Hananiah  the 
son  of  one  of  the  apothecaries : "  or  un- 
known "  Benjamin  and  Hashub,"  repairing 
together  "over  against  their  house."  I 
perceive  also  that  "  the  Tekoites  repaired 
another  piece,"  —  so  perhaps  they  got 
stirred  out  of  their  lukewarmness,  and  did 
better  service. 

"  So  built  we  the  wall ;  and  all  the  wall 
was  joined  together  unto  the  half  thereof: 
for  the  people  had  a  mind  to  work  "  (Neh. 
iv.  10). 


Are  All  Apostles  ?  117 

You  see  the  grancl  result,  and  the  simple 
explanation.  But  of  course  things  could 
not  long  run  on  so  smoothly. 

"They  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Je- 
sus shall  suffer  persecution  : "  and  these 
old  builders  found  it  true. 

Then  as  now  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
must  rise  under  fire ;  and  this  record  is 
well  worth  studying  out.  It  is  such  an 
every- day,  human  story,  that  might  have 
been  written  for  our  own  time.  How  the 
world  laughed  and  then  threatened  ;  how 
Judah  lost  heart  and  declared  themselves 
tired  ;  how  Jews  dwelling  among  the  world, 
came  with  big  eyes  and  bigger  stories  of 
what  the  world  would  do.  How  Nehemiah 
—  loyal  heart! — never  faltered,  but  keep- 
ing the  people  well  to  their  work  (great 
virtue  in  that)  gave  the  one  watchword  : 
Remember  the  Lord. 

"  Be  not  ye  afraid  of  them  :  remember 


Ii8  Are  All  Apostles ? 

the  Lord,  which  is  great  and  terrible " 
(Neh.  iv.  14). 

Adding  then  the  tenderest  plea : 

"  And  fight  for  your  brethren,  your  sons, 
and  your  daughters,  your  wives,  and  your 
houses." 

Remember  —  and  fight :  the  far-off  origi- 
nal, you  see,  of  u  Pray  —  and  keep  your 
powder  dry." 

Do  you  think  the  injunction  is  out  of 
date  ?  the  plea  grown  old  ?  Does  this  gay 
nineteenth  century  need  newer  doctrine  ? 
Alas,  look  at  the  ruined  lives,  the  great 
houses  left  desolate,  the  floods  of  sorrow 
and  evil  which  rolling  up  to  the  broken 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  finding  them  un- 
watched,  flows  in  upon  the  city. 

They  set  a  worthy  pattern  in  Nehemiah's 
day.  After  that  first  brush  with  discour- 
agement, they  returned  all  of  them  to  the 
wall,  "every  man  to  his  work." 


Are  All  Apostles?  119 

"  They  which  buildcd  on  the  wall,  and  they 
that  bare  burdens,  with  those  that  laded, 
every  one  with  one  of  his  hands  wrought 
in  the  work,  and  with  the  other  held  a 
weapon.  For  the  builders  every  one  had 
his  sword  girded  by  his  side,  and  so  builded  " 
(Neh.  iv.  17,  18). 

That  was  the  position,  even  for  those 
who  were  too  weak  or  too  young  to  be 
more  than  armour  bearers. 

"So  we  laboured  in  the  work,  and  half 
of  them  held  the  spears  from  the  rising  of 
the  morning  till  the  stars  appeared  "  (Neh. 
iv.  20). 

And  it  has  its  deep  meaning,  even  for 
us. 

"Thou  therefore  endure  hardness,  as  a 
good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ"  (2  Ti.  ii.  3). 

"Fight  the  good  fight"  (1  Ti.  vi.  12). 

"  Earnestly  contend  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints"  (Jude  3). 


120  Are  All  Apostles? 

And  also  Nehemiah's  trumpet  has  its 
counterpart  in  modern  times  :  what  though 
the  peculiar  metal  which  gave  his  its  ring, 
is  getting  to  be  rare  and  very  precious. 

"  The  .work  is  great  and  large,  —  he  re- 
minded them,  —  and  we  are  separated  upon 
the  wall,  one  far  from  another.  In  what 
place  therefore  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  resort  ye  thither  unto  us  :  our  God 
shall  fight  for  us"  (Neh.  iv.  19,  20). 

Do  you  recognize  that  call  when  you 
hear  it  ?  For  even  in  this  day  of  uncer- 
tain sounds,  the  rallying  trumpet  may  still 
be  heard.  When  a  Christian  minister  calls 
for  workers  ;  when  a  missionary  asks  for 
reinforcements ;  when  heathen  beg  for 
teachers,  and  Bible  women  say,  Must  we 
give  up  this  district  for  want  of  funds  ?  — 
then,  as  at  Sinai,  "  the  trumpet  soundeth 
long;"  and  with  a  tone  only  second  in 
solemnity  to  that.     It  may  be  where  fresh 


Are  All  Apostles?  121 

forces  attack  the  Sabbath  gate  ;  or  storm 
up  against  the  builders  at  the  breach  that 
drink  has  made :  a  flight  of  Sanballat's 
arrows  ("  What  do  these  feeble  Jews  ?  ")  may 
fall  in  one  place ;  the  faint-heartedness  of 
Judah  ("  We  are  not  able  to  build,")  may 
thin  the  ranks  in  another.  But  wherever 
it  is  whence  the  trumpet  sounds,  to  those 
hard-pressed  ones,  whoever  they  may  be, 
"resort  ye"  all.  "Our  God  shall  fight  for 
us  ;"  you  are  not  helping  a  doubtful  cause. 
Do  you  think  I  forget  my  own  words,  and 
now  enjoin  you  to  be  "  in  twenty  places  at 
once  "  ?  Yes,  but  not  in  the  way  I  depre- 
cated then.  We  all  know  what  it  is  to  send 
our  hearts  to  the  front ;  and  unable  to  go 
ourselves,  to  turn  out  every  scrap  of  aid, 
comfort,  and  power  the  house  affords,  and 
then  speed  it  on  :  so  really  fighting  all  along 
the  line.  Time  will  be  given  in  one  place, 
money  in  another  :  words,  thoughts,  prayers, 


122  Are  All  Apostles? 

influence,  will  all  "strive  mightily"  with 
every  hard-pressed  band  of  workers.  You 
can  shew  countenance  at  least ;  and  many 
a  surrounded  Board  of  Managers  would  be 
glad  of  even  that.  Do  you  remember  the 
answer  of  the  young  soldier,  when  they 
asked  him  rather  scornfully  what  he  could 
do  ?  Said  he :  "I  can  stop  a  bullet  that 
might  kill  a  better  man  ! " 

One  more  objection  comes  up.  "  Our 
God  shall  fight  for  us,"  said  Nehemiah  :  if 
so,  why  call  on  us?  But  you  may  notice 
that  the  wise  old  Jew  makes  the  only  legiti- 
mate use  of  the  promise,  with  it  urging 
men  to  do  their  utmost. 

"  The  Lord  is  with  you,  while  ye  be  with 
him"  (2  Chr.  xv.  2). 

So  God  has  arranged  it,  and  it  is  useless 
to  ask  why.  Stress  almost  unbounded  is 
laid  upon  human  agency  ;  and  if  every  one 
else  had  answered  some  special  summons, 


Are  All  Apostles  ?  123 

the  call  would  still  be  for  you  to  do  what 
you  could.  Israel  had  triumphed,  "  God 
had  subdued  the  king  of  Canaan  "  before 
their  forces;  "the  Lord  discomfited  Sis- 
era."  and  delivered  him  into  Barak's  hand  : 
it  was  all  done,  and  all  the  Lord's  doing. 
But  two  weighty  sentences  point  the  great 
song  of  thanksgiving. 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord  for  the  avenging 
of  Israel,  when  the  people  willingly  offered 
themselves"  (Jud.  v.  2). 

And  then  the  stern  naming  of  those  who 
"  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 


UNTIL   THE   EVENING. 


DOES  it  appall  you  ?  — 
"  This  sore   travail    that   God    hath 
given  to  the  sons  of  men  to  be  exercised 
therewith"  (Eccle.  i.  13). 

So  Solomon  felt. 

"  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my  hands 
had  wrought,  and  on  the  labour  that  I  had 
laboured  to  do  ;  and,  behold,  all  was  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  there  was  no 
profit  under  the  sun"  (Eccle.  ii.  n). 

Solomon  even  went  further,  and  "  hated 
life : "  as  many  a  lesser  man  has  done  since 
then.  And,  as  I  said,  the  work  of  the 
world  has  not  ceased,  but  rather  grown 
greater ;  and   the  turmoil   is  doubled,  and 


Until  the  Evening.  125 

demands  are  heaped  up  ;  and  "there  is  no 
discharge."  "  Man  goeth  forth  unto  his 
work  and  to  his  labour  until  the  evening," 

—  and  will,  until  the  everlasting  day  shall 
dawn.  And  yet  how  grand,  how  whole- 
some, how  delicious,  is  work:  for  us,  the 
Lord's  children,  this  part  of  the  curse  has 
become  a  blessing,  the  thorns  and  the  this- 
tles bear  blooms  and  fruit.  How  then,  do 
we  not  get  tired,  "like  other  men"  ?  do  we 
not  feel  the  thorn-pricks  too  ? 

"  I  am  not  able  to  bear  all  this  people 
alone,"  —  said  Moses  (Num.  xi.  15). 

"I,  even  I  only,  am  left,"  —  said  Elijah, 

—  "and  they  seek  my  life  to  take  it  away  " 
(1  Kings  xix.  10). 

Jonah  fainted,  and  "wished  in  himself  to 
die"  (Jonah  iv.  8),  under  the  buffeting  of 
an  east  wind  of  unusual  power. 

Even  Paul  was  "  pressed  above  measure," 

—  poor  tired  servants,  getting  dazed  in  the 


126  Until  the  Evening. 


melee.  But  I  think  none  of  them  ever 
"  hated  labour ; "  and  a  word,  a  question, 
from  their  Master  set  them  all  to  rights. 
Just  a  touch  of  his  hand,  as  it  were,  letting 
them  know  they  were  not  alone.  They 
wish  to  "  stand  idle,"  in  a  world  where 
they  could  be  "  workers  together  with 
Him  "  ?  "  Spend  and  be  spent  "  was  their 
motto  ;  neither  was  life  itself  counted  dear 
in  comparison.  Fainting  and  frightened 
and  weary  they  might  be,  now  and  then, 
but  never  seeking  their  discharge  ;  never 
calling  life,  as  the  unhired  people  do,  "one 
long  disappointment." 

What  then  did  Solomon  mean  ?  he  was 
the  wisest  of  men,  and  ought  to  know. 
And  he  did  know  :  he  tasted  to  the  full  the 
"  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit  "  in  things 
done  merely  for  oneself. 

"  Yea,  I  hated  all  my  labour  which  I  had 
taken   under    the  sun  :    because    I    should 


Until  the  Evening.  '    127 

leave  it  unto  the  man  that  shall  be  after 
me.  And  who  knoweth  whether  he  shall 
be  a  wise  man  or  a  fool  ?  yet  shall  he  have 
rule  over  all  my  labour  wherein  I  have  la- 
boured, and  wherein  I  have  shewed  myself 
wise  under  the  sun.  This  also  is  vanity" 
(Eccle.  ii.  18,  19). 

"Vanity"  enough ! 

"  He  heapeth  up  riches,  not  knowing 
who  shall  gather  them  "  (Ps.  xxxvii.  9). 

He  plans  the  pulling  down  his  barns  and 
the  building  greater,  and  "  that  very  night," 
perhaps,  his  soul  is  required  of  him. 

"Then  whose  shall  those  things  be?" 
(Lu.  xii;  20). 

"  So  is  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for 
himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward  God  "  (Lu. 
xii.  21). 

"Therefore  I  went  about  to  cause  my 
heart  to  despair  of  all  the  labour  which  I 
took  under  the  sun. 


128  Until  the  Evening. 


"  For  what  hath  man  of  all  his  labour, 
and  of  the  vexation  of  his  heart,  wherein 
he  hath  laboured  under  the  sun  ?  For  all 
his  days  are  sorrows,  and  his  travail  grief; 
yea,  his  heart  taketh  not  rest  in  the  night " 
(Eccle.  ii.  20,  22,  23). 

It  is  a  weary  outlook,  over  an  alkaline 
plain.  For  it  was  all  done  for  "me!'  "I 
builded  me  houses,"  "  I  made  me  gardens," 
"  I  gathered  me  silver  and  gold  ; "  doing  it 
too  with  complete  success.  And  it  has  a 
pleasant  sound. 

"  Whatsoever  mine  eyes  desired  I  kept 
not  from  them,  I  withheld  not  my  heart 
from  any  joy"  (Eccle.  ii.   10). 

"  The  kingdoms  of  this  world,  and  the 
glory  of  them,"  do  look  attractive  from 
certain  points  of  view ;  and  perhaps  no 
one  ever  swept  on  his  earthly  course  more 
triumphantly  than  Solomon. 

"  King  Solomon  passed  all  the  kings  of 


Until  the  Evening.  129 

the  earth  in  riches  and  wisdom "   (2  Chr. 
ix.  22). 

"  My  heart  rejoiced  in  all  my  labour,"  he 
says,  exulting  in  success.  But  then  set  in 
the  inevitable  recoil.  Who  should  possess 
it  all,  when  Solomon's  hands  let  go  ?  what 
should  become  of  the  royal  rooms,  the 
heaped  up  treasure  ?  Who  should  com- 
plete these  works,  who  keep  up  those  ? 
Whose  should  be  the  "four  thousand 
stalls,  with  their  horses ; "  the  "  weight 
of  gold  ; "  the  "  traffic  of  the  spice  mer- 
chants ; "  the  ships  that  every  three  years 
came  bringing  "  gold  and  silver,  ivory,  apes, 
and  peacocks  "  ?  If  only  there  had  been 
a  freight  or  express  train  to  the  other 
world  !  —  But  no  :  the  stern  law  :  "  When 
he  dieth  he  shall  carry  nothing  away : 
his  glory  shall  not  descend  after  him  "  (Ps. 
xlix.  17),  was  as  unbending  for  the  king  as 
for  the  poorest  beggar  in  his  streets,  who 
9 


130  Until  tJie  Evening. 

indeed  had  nothing  to  carry.  And  again 
the  poor  rich  king  who  "  withheld  not 
his  heart  from  any  good  "  save  one,  cried 
out  : 

"Vanity  of  vanities  :  all  is  vanity." 
"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  this  water  shall 
thirst  again  "  (Jn.  iv.  13). 

And  taking  Solomon's  stand-point,  we 
might  well  join  him  in  praising  "  the  dead 
more  than  the  living."  But  now  just  turn 
things  round,  and  begin  with,  "  Seek  first 
the  kingdom."  For  those  whose  life  is 
"  hid  with  Christ,"  who  do  all  things  in 
his  name,  seeking  his  glory  not  their  own  ; 
for  them  the  world  is  a  wide  harvest 
field,  and  the  mere  work  is  glory.  When 
"  life  is  to  do  the  will  of  God,"  no  disap- 
pointment is  possible  ;  neither  can  failure 
come  in. 

"  I  run  no  risks,  for  come  what  will, 
Thou  always  hast  Thy  way." 


Until  the  Evening.  131 

"  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and 
peace,  there  shall  be  no  end  "  (Is.  ix.  7). 

Therefore  working  for  that,  you  cannot 
fail.  "  Sovereigns  die,  and  sovereignties," 
—  said  Carlyle :  "  how  all  dies,  and  is  for 
a  time  only,  yet  fancies  itself  real !  "  But 
this  of  which  we  speak,  is  - 

"  The  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ"  (2  Pe.  i.  11). 

"  Whose  dominion  is  an  everlasting  do- 
minion, and  his  kingdom  is  from  genera- 
tion to  generation"  (Dan.  iv.  34). 

It  is  a  bank  that  cannot  break  :  and  cent 
per  cent  but  faintly  shadows  forth  the 
"  good  measure,  pressed  down,  and  shaken 
together,  and  running  over,"  —  of  the  divi- 
dends. Take  all  the  stock  in  it  you  can. 
And  do  not  blame  me  for  using  an  every- 
day figure  :  one  sometimes  sees  great  things 
best  so. 

Thus  living,  not  only  for  but  with  the 


132  Until  the  Evening-. 

Lord  ;  going  hour  by  hour  and  day  by  day 
close  after  his  leading  ;  we  get  rid,  too,  of 
the  pain  of  unfinished  work.  Up  to  this  mo- 
ment "  it  is  done  as  thou  hast  commanded  ;  " 
and  a  sudden  call  to  the  Presence  Cham- 
ber means  only  that  further  work  here  was 
not  ours  to  do. 

"  Other  men  laboured,  and  ye  have  en- 
tered into  their  labours  "  (Jn.  iv.  38). 

So  yet  other  men  into  ours.  You  think 
nobody  can  carry  on  your  work  so  well 
as  you  yourself  ?  But  if  it  is  the  Lord's 
work,  probably  he  knows  about  that  :  if 
not,  indeed,  it  matters  little  what  is 
done  with  it ;  it  is  sure  to  be  burned  up, 
sooner  or  later. 

Doubtless  there  were  other  churches  and 
Christians  for  Paul  to  visit  and  strengthen, 
—  yet  he  could  say  : 

"I  have  finished  my  course"  (2  Ti. 
iv.  7). 


Until  the  Evening.  133 

And  assuredly  he  had  thought  of  many 
further  things  he  might  do,  —  but  still  : 

"  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  up  "  (2  Ti. 
iv.  6). 

And  when  a  man  says  "  now  "  in  that 
connection,  he  means  it.  The  Lord  knew 
best,  in  this  as  in  other  things. 

"Thy  counsels  of  old  are  faithfulness 
and  truth  "  (Is.  xxv.  1). 

Could  anything  be  better?  And  the 
Lord's  faithful  soldiers  are  not  "  retired 
upon  half  pay,"  but  only  ordered  to  report 
for  higher  duty  ;  called  to  join  their  regi- 
ments in  the  better  land. 

"  One  army  of  the  living  God, 
To  his  command  we  bow  : 
Part  of  his  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  crossing  now." 

This  is  the  grand,  simple,  every-day  truth 
for  us  all,  —  and  yet  I  believe  many  a  one 
gets  little  good  from  it.     All  very  well  for 


134  Until  tlie  Evening. 

Paul,  you  think,  but  for  you  — your  work 
never  seems  to  amount  to  much.  The  la- 
bour is  hard,  the  results  discouraging. 

"  It  is  a  glorious  thing,"  said  one  of  our 
soldiers  on  the  battle-field,  "  to  die  looking 
up."  —  But  it  is  also  a  glorious  thing  to 
live  looking  up.     Remember, 

"  We  are  labourers  together  with  God  " 
(i  Co.  iii.  9). 

'•'  Fellow  helpers  to  the  truth"  (3  Jn.  8). 

"  Your  work  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love, 
and  patience  of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ "  (1  Th.  i.  3),  can  never  be  in  vain. 

"  I  hated  life,"  —  said  poor  King  Solo- 
mon,—  "because  the  work  that  is  wrought 
under  the  sun  is  grievous  unto  me. 

"  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my 
hands  had  wrought,  and  on  the  labour  that 
I  had  laboured  to  do  :  and,  behold,  all  was 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  there  was 
no  profit  under  the  sun"  (Eccle.  ii.  11). 


Until  the  Evening.  135 

True  again,  O  wise-foolish  king,  of 
things  done  only  for  oneself. 

"  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall 
gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  himself,  or 
be  cast  away  ? "  (Mark  viii.  36). 

But  of  lives  lived  humbly  "  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  a  greater  than  Solomon 
has  answered  : 

"  Write  :  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die 
in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  Yea,  saith 
the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their 
labours  ;  and  their  works  do  follow  them  " 
(Rev.  xiv.  13). 

"  Mine  elect  shall  long  enjoy  the  work 
of  their  hands  "  (Is.  Ixv.  22). 

Yes,  for  you,  O  faithful  servants,  the 
crooked  things  shall  "  be  made  straight," 
and  "  that  which  is  wanting  "  shall  be  num- 
bered :  even  "  the  years  eaten  by  the  cater- 
pillar and  the  locust  shall  be  restored." 

"  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bear- 


136  Until  the  Evening. 

ing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him  "  (Ps.  cxxvi.  6). 

"  The  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust 
thereof  :  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God, 
abideth  for  ever"  (1  Jn.  ii.  17). 

Wherefore,  "  Let  the  peace  of  God  rule 
in  your  hearts,  to  the  which  also  ye  are 
called  in  one  body ;  and  be  ye  thankful " 
(Col.  iii.  15). 


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